Scavenging of oxidative stress by antioxidants may provide a therapeutic strategy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Increasing evidence is supporting the potential application of natural resourced polysaccharides as promising prevention or treatment strategies against NAFLD. In the current study, an acidic heteropolysaccharide, LFP‐a1, was isolated and purified from Lycii fructus with successively hot water refluxing extraction, alcohol precipitation, protein removal, and DEAE‐52 cellulose chromatographic separation. LFP‐a1 was a complicated structured polysaccharide with an average MW of 4.74 × 104 Da and composed of 6 monosaccharides and 1 uronic acid. Preexposure of LFP‐a1 could increase the cell viability and reverse the abnormal oxidative stress though inhibition of mitochondrial‐mediated apoptotic pathway and correction of cell cycle progression against H₂O₂ hepatoxicity in NAFLD model L02 cells. Consistently, in vivo study in thioacetamide‐ (TAA‐) induced NAFLD model zebrafish larvae showed LFP‐a1 preserved the liver integrity and alleviated TAA‐induced oxidative stress through downregulation of abnormal apoptosis. These observations indicated the hepatoprotective activity of LFP‐a1, which may be applied for the prevention or treatment of NAFLD or other oxidative stress‐related diseases.

One of the largest concerns with world health today is still antibiotic resistance, which is making it imperative to find efficient alternatives as soon as possible. It has been demonstrated that microbes are reliable sources for the creation of therapeutic antibiotics. This research intends to investigate the endophytic microorganisms from several medicinal plants in Fenghuang Mountain (Jiangsu Province, China) and to discover new antibiotics from their secondary metabolites. A total of 269 endophytic strains were isolated from nine distinct medicinal plants. Taxonomic analysis revealed that there were 20 distinct species among these endophytes, with Streptomyces being the most common genus. Three of the target strains were chosen for scale-up fermentation after preliminary screening of antibacterial activities and the metabolomics investigation using LC-MS. These strains were Penicillium sp. NX-S-6, Streptomyces sp. YHLB-L-2 and Streptomyces sp. ZLBB-S-6. Twenty-three secondary metabolites (1–23), including a new sorbicillin analogue (1), were produced as a result of antibacterial activity-guided isolation. Through spectroscopic analysis using MS and NMR, the structures of yield compounds were clarified. According to antibacterial data, S. aureus or B. subtilis were inhibited to varying degrees by sorrentanone (3), emodic acid (8), GKK1032 B (10), linoleic acid (14), toyocamycin (17) and quinomycin A (21). The most effective antimicrobial agent against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and A. baumannii was quinomycin A (21). In addition, quinomycin A showed strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus, Cryptococcus neoformans, and two clinical isolated strains Aspergillus fumigatus #176 and #339, with MIC as 16, 4, 16 and 16 µg/mL, respectively. This is the first time that bioprospecting of actinobacteria and their secondary metabolites from medicinal plants in Fenghuang Mountain was reported. The finding demonstrates the potential of endophytic microbes in medical plants to produce a variety of natural products. Endophytic microbes will be an important source for new antibiotics.

Background: Atherosclerosis (AS) is a widespread cardiovascular disorder that constitutes a major contributor to global morbidity and mortality, thereby imposing significant economic burdens on healthcare systems worldwide. Efferocytosis, the phagocytic removal of apoptotic cells, serves as a fundamental mechanism for maintaining tissue homeostasis during normal physiological function and for restoring equilibrium following pathological insults. Methods: This study systematically investigated the functional roles of efferocytosis across specific cell types using single-cell datasets. By integrating differential expression analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and machine learning approaches, six key genes were identified. Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was subsequently performed to elucidate the biological pathways in which these genes are involved. Furthermore, the ssGSEA algorithm was applied to assess the association between these genes and immune cell infiltration levels. To evaluate their diagnostic potential, a nomogram was constructed based on the gene signature. Unsupervised consensus clustering revealed two distinct molecular subtypes of atherosclerosis. Finally, the protein expression levels of core EFRGs in atherosclerosis were analyzed using Western blotting. Results: Single-cell data analysis demonstrates that macrophages, vascular smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells play potential functional roles in efferocytosis. Utilizing bulk RNA sequencing, six core efferocytosis-related genes (STAB1, ANO5, GULP1, LGR6, SCARF1, and CAMK2G) were identified, which exhibit significant diagnostic potential in atherosclerosis. Based on the expression profiles of these six genes, atherosclerosis can be stratified into two distinct molecular subtypes—subtypes A and B—with subtype B being characterized by its association with unstable plaque formation. Western blot analysis confirmed the expression trends of five proteins (ANO5, GULP1, LGR6, SCARF1, and CAMK2G) among the candidates. Conclusion: This study has revealed the potential value of efferocytosis-related biomarkers in the diagnosis of atherosclerosis (AS) and the optimization of treatment strategies, providing new theoretical basis and research perspectives for precise intervention in cardiovascular diseases.