Spirulina happens to be a special type of blue-green algae that originally emerged 3.5 billion years ago and was used as a source of nutrition. Spirulina gets its name from the filaments’ spiral or helical structure, but its true name is taxonomically Genus Arthrospira which encompasses several species. The most common species are S. fusiformis, S. maxima, and S. platensis. It is rich in various nutrients and chemical components including protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, pigments, chlorophyll, and enzymes. Spirulina’s active molecules and rich nutrients make it have several pharmacological activities and uses including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, immune system booster, anticancer, antiviral activity, and neuroprotective properties. It is also utilized as a nutritional supplement and for weight loss. Moreover, several studies confirm that Spirulina improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood glucose levels in rat models as well as diabetic patients. The reason behind this unique behavior could be credited to the presence of several active components in it, but the action’s fundamental mechanism is still a matter of debate. Several studies have suggested different mechanisms including anti-inflammatory activity, increased insulin sensitivity, inhibition of gluconeogenesis, antioxidant activity, modulating gut microbiota composition, improved glucose homeostasis, and insulin receptor activation. Therefore, it became clear that Spirulina is a mine of active substances used as a nutritional supplement and reduces blood glucose levels or used in conjunction with other treatments to tackle type 2 diabetes. Further exploration is required to fully explain its effects on human physiology and determine optimal dosages for treatment.

Strategies to prevent the health abnormalities associated with the extensive use of MSG (monosodium glutamate) as a flavoring booster are badly needed. The current study was conducted to investigate oxidative stress, inflammation, and abnormal lipid profile as the main risk factors of neurotoxicity in MSG-exposed female albino rats. Besides, the effect of concurrent consumption of Zingiber officinale rhizomes powder was studied at low doses. Twenty rats (total) were split into 4 separate groups. The 1st group was a negative control group (without any treatment), while the others received 6 mg MSG/kg. The 2nd group was left untreated, whereas the 3rd and 4th groups were given a regular laboratory diet that included ginger rhizome powder supplements (GRP, 0.5 & 1%, respectively) for six weeks. In brain tissue homogenates, exposure to MSG caused a significant depletion of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and total protein levels, while triglycerides and cholesterol contents were significantly elevated. Moreover, a noteworthy upsurge in oxidative load and inflammation markers was also noticed associated with a marked reduction of antioxidant levels, which histopathological staining verified further. The rat diet formulated with GRP, with a dose-dependent effect, resulted in increased GABA and total protein contents and attenuated inflammation, oxidative stress, abnormal lipid profile, and marked histological changes in cerebral cortical neurons of MSG-administered animals. Therefore, this study reveals that GRP shields rats against the neurotoxicity that MSG causes. The anti-inflammatory as well as antioxidant, and lipid-normalizing properties of rhizomes of ginger may be accountable for their observed neuroprotective action.

The formation of cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) using macromolecular cross-linkers improves substrate accessibility and enhances enzyme retention. However, there have been few studies exploring the use of macromolecular cross-linkers due to the challenges related to cross-linker screening. In compliance with our previous computational and experimental screening, dextran is the optimal macromolecular cross-linker to develop CLEAs of endolevanase from Bacillus lehensis G1 (rlevblg1-dex-CLEA) for levan-type-fructooligosaccharides (L-FOS) production. In this study, rlevblg1-dex-CLEAs was optimized, and the activity recovery continued to increase and reached 90.5%. Subsequently, the rlevblg1-dex-CLEAs were characterized and they displayed higher thermal stability after 1 h of incubation in comparison to the free enzyme. Moreover, the rlevblg1-dex-CLEAs were reusable for five cycles and exhibited greater storage stability over 180 days at 4 °C (60.9%) than that of free rlevblg1. In addition, the rlevblg1-dex-CLEAs demonstrated similar catalytic efficiency as the free enzyme and generated a substantial amount of L-FOS with a longer degree of polymerization, which is more beneficial for industrial use.

Seoul Virus (SEOV), a zoonotic hantavirus, is a major cause of Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) and represents a global health challenge. With no licensed vaccines or specific antivirals available, this study aimed to design a glycoprotein-based multi-epitope vaccine against SEOV using immunoinformatics approaches. MHC-I and MHC-II epitopes were predicted via the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB) and screened for antigenicity, non-allergenicity, and non-toxicity. Four constructs were designed, with V2 selected as the best candidate. Structural modeling was performed using AlphaFold3 and validated with Ramachandran analysis. Molecular docking with Toll-like receptor-4, molecular dynamics simulations, and immune simulations were conducted to evaluate stability and immunogenicity. The V2 construct demonstrated high antigenicity (0.683) and broad population coverage (95.94%). Structural validation confirmed 95.6% of residues in favored regions. Docking revealed strong binding to Toll-like receptor-4, and dynamics confirmed stability through RMSD, RMSF, Rg, PCA, DCCM, and FEL analysis. Immune simulations predicted robust responses, including high IgG1 titers. Codon optimization (GC content 56.62%) and cloning confirmed expression potential. The V2 construct exhibits stability, strong immunogenicity, and broad population coverage, supporting its potential as a vaccine candidate against SEOV. Experimental validation in vitro and in vivo is required to confirm efficacy and safety.

Background/Objectives: The tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) critically influences colorectal cancer (CRC) progression and therapeutic response, yet mechanisms shaping immune phenotypes remain unclear. Mucin-type O-glycosylation regulates tumour–immune interactions at the cell surface. Methods: We analysed O-glycosylation activity in 988 colorectal cancer (CRC) tumours derived from three independent cohorts: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-CRC, n = 534), the Clinical Proteomic Tumour Analysis Consortium (CPTAC2-CRC, n = 106), and the Sidra–Leiden University Medical Center (Sidra-LUMC, n = 348). O-glycosylation activity was quantified using a transcriptomic gene signature and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Tumours were stratified into high and low O-glycosylation groups based on the median score, and associations with immune phenotypes, genomic alterations, and tumour functional states were assessed. Results: High O-glycosylation tumours exhibited an immune-desert phenotype with reduced immune-inflamed (p = 3.65 × 10⁻¹⁰) and immune-excluded (p = 0.0070) signatures alongside increased immune-desert scores (p = 0.0049) and reduced Siglec signalling (p = 8.14 × 10⁻⁵). O-glycosylation was associated with genomic stability, including lower TP53 mutation frequency (p = 0.0056), reduced aneuploidy (p = 0.0116), and decreased fraction of genome altered (p = 0.0309). High O-glycosylation tumours also showed upregulation of multidrug resistance programmes and reduced epithelial–mesenchymal transition (p = 0.0141) and proliferation (p = 0.0294). Conclusions: O-glycosylation defines a CRC subtype characterised by immune exclusion, genomic stability, and multidrug resistance, highlighting its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target.