Purpose:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses a global health challenge with widespread transmission. Growing concerns about vaccine side effects, diminishing efficacy, and religious-based hesitancy highlight the need for alternative pharmacological approaches. Our study investigates the impact of the ethanol extract of Antrodia cinnamomea (AC), a native medicinal fungus from Taiwan, on COVID-19 in both in vitro and in vivo contexts.Methods:We measured the mRNA and protein levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) in human lung cells using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. Additionally, we determined the enzymatic activity of ACE2 using the fluorogenic peptide substrate Mca-YVADAPK(Dnp)-OH. To assess the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we used SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus infections in human embryonic kidney 293T cells expressing ACE2 to measure infection rates. Furthermore, we evaluated the in vivo efficacy of AC in mitigating COVID-19 by conducting experiments on hamsters infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.Results:AC effectively decreased ACE2 mRNA and protein levels, a critical host receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, in human lung cells. It also prevented the spike protein from binding to human lung cells. Dehydrosulphurenic acid, an isolate from AC, directly inhibited ACE2 protease activity with an inhibitory constant of 1.53 µM. In vitro experiments showed that both AC and dehydrosulphurenic acid significantly reduced the infection rate of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus. In hamsters infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, oral administration of AC reduced body weight loss and improved lung injury. Notably, AC also inhibited IL-1β expression in both macrophages and the lung tissues of SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters.Conclusion:AC shows potential as a nutraceutical for reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection by disrupting the interaction between ACE2 and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and for preventing COVID-19-associated lung inflammation.

Background: Based on traditional and folk medicine, mushrooms have been developed into anti-cancer therapeutics. In this article, a brief overview is given of the most important medical mushroom species and their specific anti-cancer functions and mechanisms. Taiwanofungus camphoratus (Antrodia cinnamomea), is a medical fungus chosen to examine the process from ethnomedicine to developing new products for the market based on scientific, analytic, and experimental evidence. The bioactive compounds have indirect effects in cancer treatment by benefiting the immune system as well as having direct cytotoxic effects on cancer cells.Taiwanofungus camphoratus is a fungus endemic to Taiwan and one of the most popular known alternative remedies for liver cancer in Taiwan. To date, more than 150 liver cancer patients have survived using T. camphoratus. The treatment has caused tumor shrinking, as well as the disappearance of a tumor altogether in some cases. The ratio between male and female patients has been nearly equal, with ages ranging between 20-79 years. The most effective candidates are those between the ages of 40-60 years.The complex mixture of bioactive compounds in natural fruit bodies is a challenge for artificial production in vitro. Particular problems in developing T. camphoratus into therapeutics for the global market are its rarity in nature and its close dependence on an endemic tree in Taiwan. These challenges can help promote new solutions which could be utilized in the future with other medical fungiKeywords: Medicinal mushrooms, anti-cancer therapeutics, Taiwanofungus camphoratus, liver cancer.

In this study, an algal carbon dioxide (CO2) capture system was improved by adjusting the flashing frequency of light emitting diodes in a photobioreactor to enhance algal growth and the absorption of CO2 from the flue gas of a coal-fired power plant. This system comprised 2016 transparent 15 L containers with a total volume of 28,728 L. The results of this study indicate that each hectare of algae production can capture 231.4 tons of CO2 per year, which is a three-fold increase compared to previous studies. Also, even after extraction of C-phycocyanin from Arthrospira platensis, the residue of A. platensis possessed a heat of combustion exceeding 20,920 kJ/kg, and could be co-combusted with coal to recover more energy. After enzymatic hydrolysis and a biochemical analysis, it was determined that C-phycocyanin has anti-tumour effects against human oral and alveolar cancer. This study aimed to determine the feasibility of the algal carbon capture method as a renewable energy technology and improve its energy efficiency. A value chain analysis and Monte Carlo simulation was used for the evaluation, to consolidate existing approaches of algal CO2 capture and develop them beyond the laboratory scale. Furthermore, we aimed to demonstrate the beneficial application of algal biomass production beyond carbon sequestration so as to lower the costs of carbon sequestration. The results of this study suggest that this approach has high commercialisation potential. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Based on traditional and folk medicines, mushrooms have been developed into anti-cancer therapeutics. A brief overview is given about the most important medical mushroom species and their specific anti-cancer functions and mechanisms. Taiwanofungus camphoratus (Antrodia cinnamomea) is selected as example of a medical fungus in order to illustrate the general process from ethnomedicine to developing new products for the market based on scientific, analytic, and experimental evidence. The bioactive compounds have indirect effects in cancer treatment by benefiting the immune system as well as having direct cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. The complex mixture of bioactive compounds in natural fruit bodies is a challenge for artificial production in vitro. Particular problems in developing T. camphoratus into therapeutics for the global market are its rarity in nature and its close dependence on an endemic tree in Taiwan. These challenges initiate new solutions which could be transferred to other medical fungi in the future.

This study investigated the glucono-delta-lactone (GDL)-induced coagulation of milk proteins at 30 °C. The addition of 0.5 M GDL caused milk proteins to coagulate following a 1 h incubation period. Approximately 90.7% of milk proteins were coagulated into the milk pellet fraction (MPF), and the protein concentration of the milk supernatant fraction (MSF) decreased from 29.2 ± 1.1 mg mL−1 (control) to 2.7 ± 1.1 mg mL−1. The SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that the protein bands corresponding to αS-casein, β-casein and κ-casein in the MSF decreased to 0.2 ± 0.1, 0.5 ± 0.2 and 0.5 ± 0.3% of their original levels, respectively. However, only 29.5% of the β-lactoglobulin was coagulated into the MPF following the treatment with 0.5 M GDL. Two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis indicated that isomers of αS1-casein, αS2-casein, β-casein and κ-casein, as well as a fraction of β-lactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin, were coagulated from the MSF into the MPF following incubation with 0.5 M GDL.

Cellulase from Aspergillus niger was immobilized onto beta-cyclodextrin-conjugated magnetic particles by silanization and reductive amidation. The immobilized cellulase gained supermagnetism due to the magnetic nanoparticles. Ninety percent of cellulase was immobilized, but the activity of immobilized cellulase decreased by 10%. In this study, ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) was introduced into the hydrolytic process because the original reaction was a solid-solid reaction. The activity of immobilized cellulase was improved from 54.87 to 59.11 Ug immobilized cellulase(-1) at an ionic liquid concentration of 200 mM. Using immobilized cellulase and ionic liquid in the hydrolysis of rice straw, the initial reaction rate was increased from 1.629 to 2.739 g h(-1) L-1. One of the advantages of immobilized cellulase is high reusability-it was usable for a total of 16 times in this study. Compared with free cellulase, magnetized cellulase can be recycled by magnetic field and the activity of immobilized cellulase was shown to remain at 85% of free cellulase without denaturation under a high concentration of glucose (15 g L-1). Therefore, immobilized cellulase can hydrolyze rice straw continuously compared with free cellulase. The amount of harvested glucose can be up to twentyfold higher than that from the hydrolysis by free cellulase.

Ganoderma lucidum is a white rot fungus widely used as a tonic for the promotion of longevity and health. Extracts of G. lucidum have been recognized as an alternative adjuvant treatment for diabetes. Among the many biologically active constituents of G. lucidum, polysaccharides, proteoglycans, proteins and triterpenoids have been shown to have hypoglycemic effects. G. lucidum polysaccharides have been reported to have hypoglycemic activity by increasing plasma insulin levels and decreasing plasma sugar levels in mice. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B is a promising therapeutic target in diabetes, and G. lucidum proteoglycan can inhibit this enzyme in vitro. Moreover, G. lucidum triterpenoids were shown to have inhibitory activity on aldose reductase and α-glucosidase that can suppress postprandial hyperglycemia. In addition, a protein Ling Zhi-8 extracted from G. lucidum significantly decreased lymphocyte infiltration and increased the antibody detection of insulin in diabetic mice. This review summarizes most of the research about the hypoglycemic action effects of polysaccharides, proteoglycans, proteins and tritrerpenoids from G. lucidum as a guide for future research.

Uncontrolled inflammation is a leading cause of various chronic diseases. Cinnamaldehyde (CA) is a major bioactive compound isolated from the essential oil of the leaves of Cinnamomum osmophloeum kaneh that exhibits anti-inflammatory activity; however, the use of CA is limited by its cytotoxicity. Here, we synthesized three CA derivatives and identified 4-hydroxycinnamaldehyde-galactosamine (HCAG) as a low toxicity anti-inflammatory compound in vitro (HCAG IC50 ≫ 1600 µM; CA IC50=40 µM) and in vivo. HCAG reduced pro-inflammatory mediator expression in LPS-activated macrophages by inhibiting MAPK and PKC-α/δ phosphorylation, decreasing ROS generation and reducing NF-κB activation. HCAG also reduced NLRP3 inflammasome-derived IL-1β secretion by inhibiting the ATP-mediated phosphorylation of AKT and PKC-α/δ. In a mouse model of LPS-induced renal inflammation, we observed reduced albuminuria and a mild degree of glomerular proliferation, glomerular sclerosis and periglomerular inflammation in the HCAG-treated mice compared with the vehicle-treated mice. The underlying mechanisms for these renoprotective effects involved: (1) inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation; (2) decreased superoxide anion levels and apoptosis; and (3) suppressed activation of NF-κB and related downstream inflammatory mediators.

The chitosan-induced coacervation of milk proteins was investigated using a proteomic approach. The addition of 0.8% chitosan to milk caused the milk proteins to coacervate after a 1 h incubation period. Approximately 86% of the milk proteins were present in the milk pellet fraction (MPF), and the protein concentration of the milk supernatant fraction (MSF) decreased from 29.4 ± 0.2 to 4.2 ± 0.6 mg/mL. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the total intensities of serum albumin (BSA), αS-casein (αS-CN), β-casein (β-CN), κ-casein (κ-CN) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) in the MSF decreased to 8.5% ± 0.2%, 0.9% ± 0.3%, 0.7% ± 0.3%, 0.5% ± 0.2% and 15.0% ± 0.5%, respectively. Two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis indicated that αS1-, αS2-, β- and κ-CN and a fraction of the β-LG and BSA were found in the MSF following incubation with 0.8% chitosan. Isothermal titration calorimetry analysis indicated that binding of chitosan to milk proteins is an exothermic reaction based on binding titration curves of milk proteins dispersions with chitosan, and the enthalpy of binding (ΔH) and binding constant (Ka) were −7.85 × 104 cal/mol and 1.06 × 105/mol, respectively. These results suggested that the addition of 0.8% chitosan causes milk proteins to coacervate due to polysaccharide-protein interactions.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer– related deaths worldwide. Finding effective biomarkers for early diagnosis would benefit available treatments. By 2-DE analysis, GM2 activator protein (GM2AP) was increased in urine samples of lung cancer patients. An increase of GM2AP level in urine samples of lung cancer patients were verified by Western blot analysis, using healthy donors as controls. Levels of urinary GM2AP in samples from the patients were significantly increased with 23-fold higher than that found in healthy controls. The increased level of GM2AP was also confirmed in serum samples of lung cancer patients. The levels of GM2AP were found with 14fold in lung cancer patients compared to those from healthy controls. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assay revealed that the concentration of urinary GM2AP in lung cancer patients were at 1.960, 1.334 and 9.303 μM/mL, whereas in the healthy controls was found at 1.082, 1.177 and 1.028 μM/mL. The concentration of the serum samples of lung cancer patients and healthy controls were found at 2.113, 1.284 and 1.375 μM/mL, whereas in healthy controls were found at 0.995, 0.953 and 0.768 μM/mL, respectively. Therefore, we suggest that GM2AP might serve as preliminary candidate biomarker of lung cancer. Manuscript received June 9, 2014; revised September 3, 2014.

Slightly acidic electrolysed water (SlAEW) and acidic electrolysed water (AEW) have been demonstrated to effectively inactivate food-borne pathogens. However, the underlying mechanism of inactivation remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, a differential proteomic platform was used to investigate the bactericidal mechanism of SlAEW, AEW, and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions against Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The upregulated proteins after SlAEW, AEW, and NaOCl treatments were identified as outer membrane proteins K and U. The downregulated proteins after the SlAEW, AEW, and NaOCl treatments were identified as adenylate kinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and enolase, all of which are responsible for energy metabolism. Protein synthesis-associated proteins were downregulated and identified as elongation factor Tu and GAPDH. The inhibitory effects of SlAEW and AEW solutions against V. parahaemolyticus may be attributed to the changes in cell membrane permeability, protein synthesis activity, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biosynthesis pathways such as glycolysis and ATP replenishment.

IntroductionEffective biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung cancer are needed. A recent study demonstrated that urinary GM2-activator protein (GM2AP) level was increased in lung cancer patients. This study aims to validate the potential application of GM2AP as a biomarker for diagnosis of lung cancer.MethodsSerum and urine samples were obtained from 189 participants (133 patients for treatment naive lung cancer, 26 healthy volunteers for urine, and 30 healthy volunteers for serum). GM2AP level was detected by Western blotting and quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The GM2AP expression in tumors and nontumor parts of lung tissues from 143 nonsmall cell lung cancers was detected by immunohistochemical stains.ResultsThere was an 8.11 ± 1.36 folds increase in urine and a 5.41 ± 0.73 folds increase in serum level of GM2AP in lung cancer patients compared with healthy volunteers (p < 0.0001), achieving a 0.89 AUC value in urine and 0.90 AUC value in serum for the receiver-operating characteristic curves. Both serum and urine levels of GM2AP correlated significantly with pathology stages (urine, p = 0.009; serum, p < 0.0001). Using immunohistochemical, positive expression of GM2AP was found at 83.9% of nonsmall cell lung cancers patients and none in normal tissue. The GM2AP expression was significantly correlated with pathology stage (p = 0.0001). Patients with higher GM2AP expression had shorter overall survival (p = 0.045) and disease-free survival (p = 0.049) than lower GM2AP expression. Moreover, the multivariate analysis suggested GM2AP as an independent predictors of disease-free survival and overall survival.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates that GM2AP might serve as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in patients with lung cancer.

Three venom toxins, neoverrucotoxin (neoVTX) α-subunit and β-subunit as well as verrucotoxin (VTX) β-subunit, were identified in the stonefish Synanceja verrucosa by SDS-PAGE, Native-PAGE and two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled with Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight (MALDI-Q-TOF). The venom estimated by Native-PAGE were 471, 358, 260 and 166 kDa. The predominate protein bands of crude venom were 84 and 75 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The crude venom protein fell in the region with pI values of 7-9 and molecular weights of 75-90 kDa by 2-DE. Peptide mass fingerprints (PMF) and MS/MS ions originated from MALDI-Q-TOF were used to identify the protein. Our results showed that the complete components of neoverrucotoxin (neoVTX) α-subunit and β-subunit as well as verrucotoxin (VTX) β-subunit were identified from SDS-PAGE and 2-DE patterns. Native-PAGE did not yield protein identifications but revealed the presence of protein complexes.

Cellulase from Aspergillus niger was immobilized onto β -cyclodextrin-conjugated magnetic particles by silanization and reductive amidation. The immobilized cellulase gained supermagnetism due to the magnetic nanoparticles. Ninety percent of cellulase was immobilized, but the activity of immobilized cellulase decreased by 10%. In this study, ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) was introduced into the hydrolytic process because the original reaction was a solid-solid reaction. The activity of immobilized cellulase was improved from 54.87 to 59.11 U g immobilized cellulase −1 at an ionic liquid concentration of 200 mM. Using immobilized cellulase and ionic liquid in the hydrolysis of rice straw, the initial reaction rate was increased from 1.629 to 2.739 g h −1 L −1 . One of the advantages of immobilized cellulase is high reusability—it was usable for a total of 16 times in this study. Compared with free cellulase, magnetized cellulase can be recycled by magnetic field and the activity of immobilized cellulase was shown to remain at 85% of free cellulase without denaturation under a high concentration of glucose (15 g L −1 ). Therefore, immobilized cellulase can hydrolyze rice straw continuously compared with free cellulase. The amount of harvested glucose can be up to twentyfold higher than that from the hydrolysis by free cellulase.