Cancer cachexia is a complex wasting syndrome characterized by significant loss of body weight and muscle mass in patients with advanced cancer. The disease is associated with increased systemic inflammation, altered neurohormonal signaling, and, in particular, an increased catabolic rate in muscle and adipose tissue. Generally, cancer cachexia leads to weakness, reduced quality of life, decreased tolerance to cancer therapies, and poor survival. Despite considerable research effort, effective treatments for cancer cachexia remain limited, highlighting the need for innovative therapeutic strategies. Recently, there has been growing interest in plant-derived treatments for cancer cachexia. These natural remedies have shown the potential to attenuate muscle wasting, stimulate food intake, improve energy balance, and alleviate systemic inflammation associated with the condition. This review summarizes the impact of recent studies on ginseng-derived compounds on cancer cachexia, explores their underlying mechanisms, and expands our understanding of potential therapeutic approaches for cachexia.

The L2 protein, a minor capsid component of human papillomavirus (HPV), plays a critical role in the HPV life cycle by packaging the viral genome with the L1 protein and facilitating DNA transport to the nucleus. Identifying genetic variations in the L2 gene is essential for improving vaccine development, diagnostic accuracy, and understanding viral evolution, potentially contributing to more effective HPV vaccines. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic variation of the L2 gene in cervical cancer specimens collected from patients in Riau Province, Indonesia. A single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted at Arifin Achmad General Hospital, Riau Province, involving cervical cancer patients with confirmed HPV16 infection between January 2018 and August 2020. Demographic, clinical, and risk factor data were collected through structured interviews and direct assessments. Cervical biopsy specimens were collected, and viral DNA was extracted for L2 gene amplification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing was conducted on PCR products, followed by single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) identification through alignment with the HPV16 reference genome. The amplification and sequencing of the HPV16 L2 gene from 22 cervical cancer specimens revealed 36 SNPs, including 31 nonsynonymous and five synonymous mutations. High-frequency mutations were observed at nucleotide positions 4,074 and 4,177, each detected in 95.45% of the samples. Notable insertions were found at positions 3,668–3,669 and 4,275–4,276, indicating substantial sequence variation. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the sequences into three clusters, with most belonging to sub-lineage A2 (European), while others aligned with A4 (Asian) and East Asian lineages. The observed genetic diversity in the HPV16 L2 gene may reflect regional viral evolution and has potential implications for future vaccine development.

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) is a significant threat to global tomato production, with symptom severity varying widely among strains and often leading to significant economic losses. Despite extensive studies on aggressive variants, the molecular determinants of mild symptomatology in field isolates, particularly from Korea, remain underexplored. In this study, we characterized a mildly infecting PepMV isolate from asymptomatic tomato plants during a field survey in Jeonju, South Korea. The full-length genome sequence and phylogenetic analysis classified it as a CH2 strain. A full-length cDNA infectious clone of this isolate was constructed and confirmed to induce no mosaic symptoms in tomato plants. To identify symptom determinants, targeted mutagenesis was performed in the coat protein (CP) open reading frame. Substitution mutations at CP position 236 or combined 6/155 substitutions converted the mild isolate into a severe variant, inducing strong mosaic symptoms and significantly higher viral accumulation (up to tenfold). These results demonstrated that specific CP residues act as key regulators of symptom severity in PepMV CH2 strains and provide defined severe mutants as useful tools for screening resistance in tomatoes. Although the mechanism underlying symptom modulation remains unclear, this work advanced our understanding of molecular differences between mild and severe strains and supported targeted strategies for managing this economically important virus.

Coastal marine environments are dynamic transition zones where offshore water masses and terrestrial inputs shape microbial community structure. However, standardized comparisons of bacterial communities across geographically distinct Korean coastal waters remain limited, constraining the development of microbial baselines for long‐term monitoring. Surface seawater bacterial communities from four Korean coastal locations were analysed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Total bacterial communities and putative pathogen‐associated bacterial taxa (PPB) assemblages differed among the four sampled locations and between the March and September sampling periods. PERMANOVA revealed significant effects of sampling location, sampling period and their interaction on community composition. Although Pseudomonadota dominated across all sampled locations, class‐ and genus‐level community compositions differed markedly among sites. Vibrio was a major component of PPB assemblages, while SIMPER analysis indicated that compositional differences among the sampled locations were associated with variation in combinations of co‐occurring taxa. Putative species‐level assignments further suggested location‐associated distribution patterns among dominant PPB taxa. Despite the absence of concurrent environmental metadata, these findings provide preliminary location‐specific baseline data for future coastal microbial monitoring and studies of environmental change.