Effectiveness of Chitosan Nanoparticles as a Radioprotective Agent Against Gamma-Induced Changes in the Histology and Biochemistry of Parotid Glands

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Radiotherapy, as a crucial method for cancer treatment, effectively kills cancer cells but also damages normal tissues, especially sensitive tissues such as salivary glands. The oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions induced by radiotherapy are the primary causes of salivary gland dysfunc...

A New Chapter for RCSB Protein Data Bank Molecule of the Month in 2025

Academic Background The Protein Data Bank (PDB) is the most important global resource for three-dimensional structural data of biological molecules. Since its establishment in 1971, the PDB has become a vital tool in fields such as structural biology, biomedicine, bioenergy, and biotechnology. The PDB not only provides researchers with a vast amoun...

Hyperosmotic Stress Promotes the Nuclear Translocation of TFEB in Tubular Epithelial Cells Depending on Intracellular Ca2+ Signals via TRPML Channels

In recent years, autophagy, as a crucial intracellular degradation and recycling mechanism, has played a key role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and responding to various stress conditions. Particularly in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells, autophagy activity is essential for coping with common renal injuries such as ischemia, toxic dama...

Microbiome Dysbiosis, Neutrophil Recruitment and Mesenchymal Transition of Mesothelial Cells Promotes Peritoneal Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer

Background Introduction Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, with high incidence and mortality rates. According to statistics, approximately 1.87 million new cases of CRC were diagnosed globally in 2020, resulting in 915,000 deaths. Peritoneal metastasis (PM) is a common metastatic pathway of CRC, with about ...

Structural Insights into Spliceosome Fidelity: DHX35–GPATCH1-Mediated Rejection of Aberrant Splicing Substrates

Academic Background Introduction The spliceosome is a highly dynamic macromolecular complex responsible for the precise excision of introns from pre-mRNA. Although recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) have provided a comprehensive structural understanding of the stepwise assembly, catalytic splicing, and final disassembly of the sp...

Molecular Mechanism of the Arrestin-Biased Agonism of Neurotensin Receptor 1 by an Intracellular Allosteric Modulator

Academic Background G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most abundant family of cell surface receptors in the human body and are also the most common targets of FDA-approved drugs. GPCRs play a crucial role in the treatment of various diseases, including pain, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. However, drug development targetin...

An Antibody–Toxin Conjugate Targeting CD47 Linked to the Bacterial Toxin Listeriolysin O for Cancer Immunotherapy

Academic Background Cancer immunotherapy has become a hot topic in cancer research in recent years, with its core goal being to activate the patient’s own immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. However, cancer cells evade immune system attacks through various mechanisms, one of which is the expression of the “don’t eat me” signal mo...

Comprehensive Discovery and Functional Characterization of the Noncanonical Proteome

Academic Background The completion of the Human Genome Project has greatly advanced our understanding of complex biological processes at the genome-wide level. However, only about 1% of the genome encodes proteins, with the majority consisting of non-coding regions that produce abundant non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA...

TP53-Specific Mutations Serve as a Potential Biomarker for Homologous Recombination Deficiency in Breast Cancer: A Clinical Next-Generation Sequencing Study

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors among women worldwide, with a complex pathogenesis involving multiple gene mutations and signaling pathway abnormalities. Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) is a significant molecular characteristic in breast cancer, closely related to patients’ sensitivity to PARP inhibitor (PARPi) th...

GutBugDB: A Web Resource to Predict the Human Gut Microbiome-Mediated Biotransformation of Biotic and Xenobiotic Molecules

In recent years, the significant role of the human gut microbiota (HGM) in the metabolism of drugs and nutrients has gradually been recognized. The gut microbiota not only affects the bioavailability of orally administered drugs but also participates in the biotransformation of drugs and bioactive molecules through its metabolic enzymes, thereby in...