Glycosylation changes are key molecular events in tumorigenesis, progression and glycosyltransferases play a vital role in the this process. FUT8 belongs to the fucosyltransferase family and is the key enzyme involved in N-glycan core fucosylation. FUT8 and/or core fucosylated proteins are frequently upregulated in liver, lung, colorectal, pancreas, prostate,breast, oral cavity, oesophagus, and thyroid tumours, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma and glioblastoma multiforme and downregulated in gastric cancer. They can be used as markers of cancer diagnosis, occurrence, progression and prognosis. Core fucosylated EGFR, TGFBR, E-cadherin, PD1/PD-L1 and α3β1 integrin are potential targets for tumour therapy. In addition, IGg1 antibody defucosylation can improve antibody affinity, which is another aspect of FUT8 that could be applied to tumour therapy.

With the growing aging population and longer life expectancy, periodontitis and tooth loss have become major health concerns. The gut microbiota, as a key regulator in bone homeostasis, has gathered immense interest. Baicalin, a flavonoid compound extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, has shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This study investigated, for the first time, the protective mechanism of baicalin against alveolar bone inflammatory resorption in aging mice by regulating intestinal flora and metabolites, as well as intestinal barrier function. A ligature-induced periodontitis model was established in d-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging mice, and baicalin was administered at different dosages for 13 weeks. Body weight was measured weekly. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of baicalin were evaluated using serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), malonaldehyde (MDA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels. The immune capability was assessed by thymus and spleen indices. Histopathological changes were observed in the heart, liver, ileum, and periodontal tissues. Alveolar bone absorption of maxillary second molars was examined, and osteoclasts were counted by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. Furthermore, fecal samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics to identify differences in intestinal bacterial composition and metabolites. Baicalin exhibited anti-aging properties, as evidenced by increased SOD activity and decreased levels of MDA, IL-6, and TNF-α in serum compared to the control group. Baicalin also ameliorated alveolar bone loss in the d-gal-induced aging-periodontitis group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, baicalin restored ileal permeability by up-regulating the expression of ZO-1 and occludin in aging-periodontitis groups (p < 0.05). Alpha diversity analysis indicated that baicalin-treated mice harbored a higher diversity of gut microbe. PCoA and ANOSIM results revealed significant dissimilarity between groups. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio, which decreased in periodontitis mice, was restored by baicalin treatment. Additionally, medium-dosage baicalin promoted the production of beneficial flavonoids, and enriched short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing bacteria. Intestinal homeostasis is a potential avenue for treating age-related alveolar bone loss. Baicalin exerts anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and osteo-protective properties by regulating the gut microbiota and metabolites.

Glycosylation is an important posttranslational modification of proteins, and it has a profound influence on diverse life processes. An abnormal polysaccharide structure and mutation of the glycosylation pathway are closely correlated with human cancer progression. Glycoproteins such as EGFR, E-cadherin, CD44, PD-1/PD-L1, B7-H3 and Muc1 play important roles in the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and their levels of glycosylation and changes in glycosyl structure are closely linked to HNSCC progression and malignant transformation. The regulation of protein glycosylation in HNSCC provides potential strategies to control cancer stem cell (CSC) subgroup expansion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor-related immunity escape and autophagy. Glycoproteins with altered glycosylation can be used as biomarkers for the early diagnosis, monitoring and prognostication of HNSCC. However, the glycobiology of cancer is still a new field that needs to be deeply studied, especially in HNSCC.

The whole chloroplast genome of Amorphophallus konjac is determined in this study. The genome size was 161,647 bp in length, containing a large single copy region of 90k bp and a small single copy region of 20k bp, which were separated by a pair of 25,722 bp inverted repeat regions. The complete chloroplast genome contained 131 genes, including 86 coding-protein (79 PCG species), 8 rRNA (4 rRNA species), and 37 tRNA genes (30 tRNA species). Based on the phylogenetic analysis, the genus Amorphophallus, represented by A. konjac might show a close relationship with Pinellia and Colocasia by the limited data for current. These complete chloroplast genomes of A. konjac laid a good foundation for population genomics, molecular, and ecological studies of Amorphophallus.

We assessed the genetic diversity and population structure of the protected orchid Bletilla striata across 18 wild populations in southwestern China. Eight pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular markers were employed for its genetic diversity and population structure analyses, while the optimized Maxent model was utilized to predict changes in the habitat distribution under historical conditions and three future climate scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585) with 141 natural distribution data and 19 climatic factors. The results revealed an average number of alleles ( Na ) of 3.549 and an effective number of alleles ( Ne ) of 2.636, with a mean polymorphic information content ( PIC ) of 0.748 across the B. striata populations. Moderate genetic diversity was observed (observed heterozygosity, Ho = 0.402; expected heterozygosity, He = 0.509), with 73% of the total variation found within populations, while the 02 population in Zhijin Guizhou exhibited relatively high genetic differentiation ( Ho = 0.675, He = 0.658). UPGMA clustering, population structure analyses, and principal component analysis identified two primary subgroups within B. striata . Among the 19 climate variables analyzed, four temperature‐related factors and two precipitation‐related factors were identified as key drivers influencing the geographical distribution of B. striata . Future projections for the 2050s and 2070s under varying climate scenarios indicate a northward expansion of suitable habitats for B. striata . The proportion of suitable habitat area is expected to increase from 288.3450 × 10 ⁴ km ² under historical conditions (1970–2000) to 351.9792–405.6077 × 10 ⁴ km ² (2050s–2070s). The wild B. striata populations in southwestern China and adjacent regions represent valuable germplasm resources with high genetic diversity, offering significant potential for artificial cultivation initiatives. Moreover, predictions of future distribution dynamics provide critical insights to guide the conservation, development, and sustainable utilization of B. striata .

Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate is a common worldwide birth defect due to a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Genome-wide association studies reported the rs7078160 of Vax1 is closely related to non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in European populations. The following studies showed the same results in Mongolian, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese populations etc. However, conflicting research had been reported in Chinese population, OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the rs7078160 polymorphism and non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Southern Chinese patients. In this study, we investigated the polymorphism distribution of rs7078160 in 100 complete patient trios (39 patients with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate; 36 patients with non-syndromic cleft lip only; 25 had non-syndromic cleft palate only; and their parents) from Southern ethnic Han Chinese. 60 healthy trios were selected as control. Polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing were used to genotype rs7078160 in Vax1; both case-control and family-based associations were analyzed. The case-control analyses revealed the rs7078160 polymorphism was significant, associated with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (p=0.04) and non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (p=0.01), but not associated with non-syndromic cleft lip only and non-syndromic cleft palate only patients. The genotype composition of rs7078160 comprises mutated homozygous AA, heterozygous AG and wild homozygous GG. Cases with AG+AA genotypes compared with GG homozygotes showed an increased risk of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (p=0.04, OR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.01-4.16) and non-syndromic cleft lip and palate (p=0.01, OR=3.94, 95% CI: 1.34-11.54). In addition, we did not detect any transmission-disequilibrium in rs7078160 (p=0.68). This study suggests that rs7078160 polymorphism is a risk factor of non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate, and Vax1 is strongly associated with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Southern Chinese Han populations.