As an agri-food by-product, the rice bran of pigmented rice, encompassing varieties such as red, black, and purple rice, has garnered increasing attention due to its richness in terms of bioactive compounds. Being mainly composed of the pericarp, aleuron, seed coat, and germ, the brown outer layer of the rice kernel offers potential health benefits and has applications in skincare. Human skin serves as the primary barrier against external threats, including pathogens, pollutants, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Notably, UV radiation accelerates the aging process and contributes to various skin issues. Recent trends suggest a heightened interest in incorporating pigmented rice into skincare regimens, motivated by its potential to mitigate oxidative stress, inflammation, and pigmentation, which are pivotal factors in skin aging and photodamage. With increasing consumer demand for natural and sustainable ingredients, pigmented rice has emerged as a promising candidate within the skincare and personal care sectors, effectively bridging the gap between nutrition and dermatological health. This review examines the applications of pigmented rice in skincare, with a particular focus on its bioactive components and potential mechanisms of action that contribute to skin health. The unique chemical composition of pigmented rice, which includes compounds such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and vitamin E, underlies its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and skin-protective properties. Despite the increasing recognition of its benefits, a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains limited, underscoring the necessity for further research to exploit the potential of pigmented rice in skincare applications fully.

Time-series experiments are crucial for understanding the transient and dynamic nature of biological phenomena. These experiments, leveraging advanced classification and clustering algorithms, allow for a deep dive into the cellular processes. However, while these approaches effectively identify patterns and trends within data, they often need to improve in elucidating the causal mechanisms behind these changes. Building on this foundation, our study introduces a novel algorithm for temporal causal signaling modeling, integrating established knowledge networks with sequential gene expression data to elucidate signal transduction pathways over time. Focusing on Escherichia coli’s (E. coli) aerobic to anaerobic transition (AAT), this research marks a significant leap in understanding the organism’s metabolic shifts. By applying our algorithm to a comprehensive E. coli regulatory network and a time-series microarray dataset, we constructed the cross-time point core signaling and regulatory processes of E. coli’s AAT. Through gene expression analysis, we validated the primary regulatory interactions governing this process. We identified a novel regulatory scheme wherein environmentally responsive genes, soxR and oxyR, activate fur, modulating the nitrogen metabolism regulators fnr and nac. This regulatory cascade controls the stress regulators ompR and lrhA, ultimately affecting the cell motility gene flhD, unveiling a novel regulatory axis that elucidates the complex regulatory dynamics during the AAT process. Our approach, merging empirical data with prior knowledge, represents a significant advance in modeling cellular signaling processes, offering a deeper understanding of microbial physiology and its applications in biotechnology.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a dual role in cellular homeostasis, but excessive levels of ROS lead to oxidative stress, accelerating skin aging. Environmental stressors like UV radiation induce ROS overproduction, overwhelming endogenous antioxidant defenses and causing cellular damage. While the skin possesses an intrinsic antioxidant network that provides moderate protection, excessive oxidative stress can trigger inflammatory responses, thereby necessitating exogenous antioxidant intervention. Microbe-derived antioxidants (MA), produced via probiotic fermentation of sea buckthorn and chestnut rose, have shown promise in mitigating ROS-induced damage. In this study, we evaluated two MA formulations, MA1 and MA2, for their ability to scavenge free radicals and alleviate hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ )-induced oxidative stress in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and dermal papilla cells (HDP). Both formulations displayed dose-dependent DPPH radical scavenging activity and enhanced cell viability at low concentrations. Under H ₂ O ₂ -induced oxidative stress, MA1 and MA2 effectively restored intracellular ROS to baseline levels, demonstrating significant cytoprotective effects. UHPLC–MS/MS profiling identified 12 compounds shared by both formulations, and Gene Ontology Biological Process enrichment analysis revealed that their associated target genes were significantly enriched in antioxidant-related pathways. Five compounds—adenosine, citric acid, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, myricetin, and phenylalanine—emerged as key contributors to the observed antioxidative effects. Together, these findings highlight the potential of fermented microbial antioxidants to re-establish redox homeostasis in human skin cells and support their further development as therapeutic or cosmetic interventions targeting oxidative stress and skin aging. Given the heightened oxidative sensitivity of aged fibroblasts, MA’s ability to alleviate ROS may offer novel therapeutic strategies against skin aging and related pathologies.

In response to environmental changes, bacteria have evolved sophisticated regulatory networks that incorporate small RNAs (sRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) to fine-tune cellular physiology. Both sRNAs and TFs modulate gene expression, but the former function via post-transcriptional mechanisms, while the latter act at the transcriptional level. However, it remains unclear why both regulatory layers are conserved through evolution, rather than one being sufficient. Here, we experimentally identified that CRP, a global regulator, regulates 25 small RNAs (sRNAs) in Escherichia coli. Interestingly, CRP also controls 80% of the target genes of these sRNAs. This architecture led us to identify 34 novel sRNA-mediated feed-forward loops (sFFLs) circuits where CRP regulates both an sRNA and its target within the CRP regulon. Quantitative PCR analysis of 16 such sFFLs revealed that each type possesses a distinct cAMP dose-response profile, suggesting that different sFFL structures embody unique regulatory logic. Specifically, coherent and incoherent type 3 and 4 sFFLs exhibit broader dynamic ranges in their dose-response compared to open-loop controls. Coherent and incoherent type 1 and 2 sFFLs appear more energy-efficient. Altogether, we propose that sRNAs cooperate with TFs through sFFLs to optimize both the energy efficiency and the diversity of signal response profiles. Therefore, sRNAs serve as critical components integrating transcriptional and post-transcriptional networks across diverse cellular pathways.

The photoprotective efficacy of natural skin-active complexes is well recognized, yet their ap-plication is often hindered by the challenge of deciphering their complex, multi-component, and multi-target mechanisms. To bridge the gap between established phenotypes and molecular mechanisms, we developed an AI-driven integrated platform that combines phytochemical profiling, network pharmacology, and deep learning-based target prediction with rigorous biophysical validation. We applied this platform to investigate RRBE, a bioactive complex refined from red rice bran extract. In vivo clinical studies confirmed that RRBE significantly accelerates the resolution of UV-induced erythema, while cellular and 3D tissue models demonstrated robust suppression of oxidative stress and DNA damage responses. To decode its material basis, the platform deconstructed RRBE into 10 distinct chemical modules. Leveraging our SCOPE-DTI deep learning model for global target prediction, we identified flavonoids (Module 1) and phenolic acids (Module 10) as the primary bioactive drivers relevant to photoprotection. These computational predictions were structurally supported by molecular docking and definitively validated in a physiological environment via Cellular Thermal Shift Assay-Mass Spectrometry (CETSA-MS). Mechanistically, RRBE functions through a synergistic polypharmacology: (1) Module 1 components, represented by procyanidin B2, target NDUFA7 to stabilize mitochondrial function and mitigate ROS; (2) Module 10 components, exemplified by caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and p-coumaric acid, engage FKBP11 and HSP90AA1 to regulate protein homeostasis and stress responses. This work not only deciphers the polypharmacological basis of RRBE’s photoprotective action but also validates a scalable “AI-guided, cell-validated” discovery pipeline, offering a rational paradigm for uncovering the protective benefits of complex natural extracts.