We lost Tatenda Murigo – but we do not lose hope. As a member of IUBMB Trainee Initiative, we will never forget her dedication and energy! And to memorialize it, we have set up a fellowship! Help us to set a sign for science in Africa right here.
Tatenda Murigo, wasn’t just a biochemistry undergraduate from Zimbabwe. She embodied hope for the African scientific community.
A 23 year old girl who had a dream, a meaningful one. Changing the research landscape in Africa. She believed that science could deliver solutions for economic but also pressing societal problems.
As a science communicator, she faced many struggles because science in Africa is neither deeply appreciated by politicians nor the public —Missing funding and delayed access to crucial reagents hinder research. Despite this, Tatenda remained determined to bring change.
Tatenda also became a member of the IUBMB Trainee Initiative to further empower young African students because the IUBMB has been supporting scientific communities in developing countries for quite some time.
With combined forces, it seemed as if everything could be mastered.
But then, in July, we had to live through a dark day.
Tragically, her journey was cut short by a fatal car accident, leaving an irreplaceable void.
A void, but not an end. We keep on, for her.
According to her mantra: “Don’t be afraid to do anything – nothing is impossible”, we came up with a new idea – the Tatenda Murigo Fellowship.
In honor of Tatenda, this fellowship would be awarded to an outstanding female Biochemistry student in Zimbabwe. Covering tuition, accommodation, and the reagents African students often have to finance themselves. This gives someone the chance to do the same honors degree Tatenda was in.
And now, we say it out loud, we need your help!
Whether it is enough to provide lunch or to fund an entire set of reagents, your support makes a difference.
It is a symbol.
Tatenda left a legacy, she embodied the ethos of scientific pursuit—to make the world a better place.
We are here together, to unravel truths, and to embrace the global community of scientists, to connect as a big family.
Volume 2 (December 2023) 100023 Biomarkers in acute myeloid leukemia: From state of the art in risk classification to future challenges of RNA editing as disease predictor and therapy target
Alberto Quattrocchi a 1, Luca Vincenzo Cappelli b 1, Giovanna De Simone c, Elisabetta De Marinis a, Martina Gentile a, Tecla Gasperi c, Alessandro Pulsoni b d, Paolo Ascenzi c e, Clara Nervi a
Aspects of Molecular Medicine welcomes new research articles and short reviews on the molecular and cellular basis of disease. Submit your paper by 30 September 2024 and the open access publication fee will be waived.
Congratulations to Michael Healy from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland, Australia, recipient of the IUBMB Whelan Young Investigator Award for his outstanding contributions to understanding the molecular function of the Commander endosomal trafficking and signalling protein complex.
Congratulations to Robert Shey from the University of Buea, Cameroon, recipient of the inaugural IUBMB Emerging Leader Award for his outstanding multidisciplinary contributions to infectious disease control research in Africa.
We are excited to announce our new IUBMB Communication Officer, Patrick Penndorf, who is also on the IUBMB Trainee Initiative Leadership Committee representing the FEBS region.
From now on he will bring insights from the IUBMB, the Trainee Initiative and our friends!
We are excited to highlight new research from the IUBMB Journals: IUBMB Life, BioFactors, Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.
Please also consider submitting your own research to the IUBMB Journals. You can expect to work with distinguished Editorial Board members and benefit from worldwide circulation and readership through our publishing partnership with Wiley. For more information about the journal and submissions, feel free to peruse the IUBMB journals website.
For now, please enjoy highlights of our recent content. Happy reading!
Yi Peng, Yujie Zhang, Yatian Liu, Zhen Dong, Tingting Wang, Fanyu Peng, Wenyi Di, Dan Zong, Mingyu Du, Hongping Zhou, Xia He
Yi Peng, Yujie Zhang and Yatian Liu contributed equally to this study.
First published: 27 March 2023
The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)–microRNA (miRNA) interaction network plays a crucial part in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Here, we discovered a relationship between LINC01376 and miR-4757 in NPC tumor development. First, LINC01376 was abnormally overexpressed in NPC tissues and cells, and its elevated expression was associated with advanced clinical stage and shorter distant metastasis-free survival time. Moreover, biological experiments showed that LINC01376 facilitated the proliferative, invasive, and migratory abilities of NPC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, bioinformatics and RT-qPCR assays revealed that LINC01376 knockdown upregulated the expression level of downstream miR-4757, including miR-4757 primary transcript (pri-miR-4757) and mature miR-4757. Furthermore, LINC01376 competitively sponged the transcription factor SP1 and reduced its enrichment in the upstream promoter region of miR-4757 to repress miR-4757 expression. Finally, insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF1) was identified as the target of miR-4757. Rescue experiments indicated that LINC01376 accelerated NPC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through the miR-4757-5p/IGF1 axis. In conclusion, the SP1/miR-4757/IGF1 axis, which is regulated by LINC01376 in NPC deterioration and metastasis, is expected to provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of NPC carcinogenesis.
Despite numerous advantages, curcumin’s (CUR) low solubility and low bioavailability limit its employment as a free drug. CUR-incorporated nanoformulation enhances the bioavailability and angiogenesis, collagen deposition, fibroblast proliferation, reepithelization, collagen synthesis, neovascularization, and granulation tissue formation in different wounds. Designing nanoformulations with controlled-release properties ensure the presence of CUR in the defective area during treatment. Different nanoformulations encompassing nanofibers, nanoparticles (NPs), nanospray, nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, nanoliposome, nanovesicle, and nanomicelle were described in the present study comprehensively. Moreover, for some other systems which contain nano-CUR or CUR nanoformulations, including some nanofibers, films, composites, scaffolds, gel, and hydrogels seems the CUR-loaded NPs incorporation has better control of the sustained release, and thereby, the presence of CUR until the final stages of wound healing is more possible. Incorporating CUR-loaded chitosan NPs into nanofiber increased the release time, while 80% of CUR was released during 240 h (10 days). Therefore, this system can guarantee the presence of CUR during the entire healing period. Furthermore, porous structures such as sponges, aerogels, some hydrogels, and scaffolds disclosed promising performance. These architectures with interconnected pores can mimic the native extracellular matrix, thereby facilitating attachment and infiltration of cells at the wound site, besides maintaining a free flow of nutrients and oxygen within the three-dimensional structure essential for rapid and proper wound healing, as well as enhancing mechanical strength.
Condensed and hydrolyzable tannins are secondary metabolites present in almost every plant part. Tannase enzyme acts on hydrolyzable tannins to produce gallic acid and tannase-mediated end-products with immense therapeutic potential. Seven different fruits with significant presence of hydrolyzable tannin content were selected to check for phenol, tannin, and hydrolyzable tannin contents. Prunus domestica had the maximum phenol content, that is, 85.4 ± 0.207, followed by Syzygium cumini, Fragaria ananassa, Rubus fruticosus, and Psidium guajava. Plum showed the maximum number of hydrolyzable tannins. Fruit extracts were subjected to tannase hydrolysis and their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were determined. There was a significant increase in the antioxidant abilities of the fruits with Punica granatum extract, displaying the highest decline of 132 units of IC50 followed by F. ananassa hydrolyzable extract, showing a decrease from 224.75 to 119.98 μg/mL. The extracts also depicted a significant increase in antibacterial activity after hydrolysis against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus with Rubus idaeus aqueous extract observed to be most effective against E. coli. The increase in antioxidant and antibacterial activity can be attributed to the production of tannase-mediated products formed after the biotransformation of hydrolyzable tannins present in the aqueous extracts.
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide an efficient mechanism to provide many students with an original research project. CUREs often culminate in a capstone poster presentation, but reports on these classes usually focus on the preparation and execution of the project rather than communication of the results. This article summarizes a CURE-associated research seminar that focuses on developing the communication and interpersonal skills required for the production and presentation of a conference poster. The class is designed to provide students with the tools and confidence for effective communication of their research. From the two class offerings to date, the 18 participating students have received five awards from 19 conference presentations.
Did you know? Wiley and Jisc just signed an agreement that allows UK authors to publish Open Access in the IUBMB Journals at no cost to them.
Thanks to a partnership our publisher Wiley has signed with Jisc, certain UK institutions now have full access to journals published by Wiley, including the IUBMB Journals. Further, the partnership enables authors at participating UK institutions to publish open access at no cost to them in the IUBMB Journals. Payment of the associated Article Publication Charges (APC) would be covered via the partnership, and authors will not need to cover the APCs from their own pockets.
We are excited to highlight new research from the IUBMB Journals: IUBMB Life, BioFactors, Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.
Please also consider submitting your own research to the IUBMB Journals. You can expect to work with distinguished Editorial Board members and benefit from worldwide circulation and readership through our publishing partnership with Wiley. For more information about the journal and submissions, feel free to peruse the IUBMB journals website.
For now, please enjoy highlights of our recent content. Happy reading!
Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the most common gastrointestinal solid carcinoma globally. Substantial evidence has established a pivotal role for circular RNAs (circRNAs) in CRC progression. In this study, differentially expressed circRNAs were analyzed based on a public dataset (GSE126094) and elevated expression of circCASK (hsa_circ_0001917) was validated in CRC. Moreover, increased circCASK was also confirmed in CRC patients. Functionally, circCASK knockdown led to a significant decrease in CRC cell growth and attenuated cell migration and invasion. Similarly, circCASK knockdown markedly attenuated tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, circCASK sponged miR-1271-5p and enhanced sine oculis homeobox homolog 1 (SIX1) expression. More importantly, both SIX1 overexpression and miR-1271-5p knockdown could reverse the cellular behavior inhibition induced by circCASK knockdown. Furthermore, SIX1 was most strongly and positively linked with Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways, circCASK triggered Wnt/β-catenin signaling through the miR-1271-5p/SIX1 axis, and FOXC2 transcriptionally induced circCASK expression. In conclusion, circCASK induced by FOXC2 accelerated CRC progression through the miR-1271-5p/SIX1 axis, thus providing an interesting insight into CRC tumorigenesis.
Kai Lüersen, Tobias Jöckel, Dawn Chin, Tobias Demetrowitsch, Karin Schwarz, Gerald Rimbach
First published: 19 August 2023
Recent reports indicated that the phytochemical curcumin possesses iron-chelating activity. Here, by employing the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, we conducted feeding studies supplementing curcumin or, as a control, the iron chelator bathophenanthroline (BPA). First, the absorption and further metabolization of dietary curcuminoids were proved by metabolomics analyses. Next, we found that 0.2% dietary curcumin, similar to BPA, lowered the iron but also the cobalt content, and to a lesser extent affected the manganese and zinc status. Supplementation during larval stages was required and sufficient for both compounds to elicit these alterations in adult animals. However, curcumin-induced retarded larval development was not attributable to the changed trace metal status. In addition, a reduction in the iron content of up to 70% by curcumin or BPA supplementation did not reduce heme-dependent catalase activity and tolerance toward H2O2 in D. melanogaster. Moreover, polyamines were not influenced by curcumin treatment and decreased iron levels. This was confirmed for selected organs from 0.2% curcumin-treated mice, except for the spleen. Here, elevated spermidine level and concomitant upregulation of genes involved in polyamine production were associated with a putatively anemia-derived increased spleen mass. Our data underline that the metal-chelating property of curcumin needs to be considered in feeding studies.
Tuberculosis is a fatal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis becoming drug-resistant day by day, necessitating to know the mechanism behind the drug resistance and how to overcome this deadly malady. Drug resistance and reduced drug bioavailability are caused by a class of transporter proteins called the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, which pump a range of medicines out of cells at the price of ATP hydrolysis. By using computational approaches, we tried to elaborate the probable function of the Rv2326c gene of M. tuberculosis, perhaps involved in drug resistance mechanism. The presence of the signature motif of ABC transporters (LSGGELQRLALAAAL and LSGGQMRRVVLAGLL) and ATP binding motif (GXXXXGKT and GXXXXGKS) in the protein sequence signifying its importance in the ATP binding and transportation of molecules. Further, this manuscript elaborated about tertiary structure and validation, functional category, localization, phosphorylation site prediction, mutational analysis of conserved motifs. Ligand docking study shows the highest affinity with ATP than GTP justified its function as an ATP binding protein. The Rv2326c protein is present in the inner membrane and working as an ATP binding protein and might be playing a dynamic role in transportation. In this study, we found that Rv2326c protein might be working as an ABC transporter by which the drugs and other molecules are imported or exported into the bacterium. As a result, the current study provides a means to better understand its normal functioning and basic biology, which can help in the development of novel therapeutic targeting approaches for Rv2326c protein.
Three dimensional (3D) design and printing are customizable and cost-effective approaches to developing small equipment and other items for use in various interdisciplinary applications. However, many pedagogical approaches to 3D printing focus more on the generation of artifacts than on the involvement of students as creators. Moreover, library makerspaces offer 3D printing services but cannot always engage the students with practical applications of their designs. We sought to determine if promoted use of 3D printing could be developed in biology laboratory trainees, ranging from undergraduate students to postdoctoral fellows. We combined two instructional workshops in the San Diego State University Library build IT makerspace, with two individual assignments to build items for the research laboratory. Evaluation of the course revealed that participants had expected the design and print processes to be of high complexity, but learned that the necessary skills could be acquired and applied in a relatively short period of time. Also, we found that trainees became proficient in 3D design and printing, and that a majority of individuals used 3D printing for subsequent applications. This effective translation of 3D printing to the research laboratory can be a paradigm for how 3D fabrication is taught. Moreover, this approach required the collaboration of library makerspace and research faculty, underlining the value of embedded librarianship in enhancing training and knowledge.
Did you know? Wiley and Jisc just signed an agreement that allows UK authors to publish Open Access in the IUBMB Journals at no cost to them.
Thanks to a partnership our publisher Wiley has signed with Jisc, certain UK institutions now have full access to journals published by Wiley, including the IUBMB Journals. Further, the partnership enables authors at participating UK institutions to publish open access at no cost to them in the IUBMB Journals. Payment of the associated Article Publication Charges (APC) would be covered via the partnership, and authors will not need to cover the APCs from their own pockets.
Congratulations to Professor Rachel E Klevit from the University of Washington, USA, who will be presenting the IUBMB Jubilee Award Lecture at EMBO: Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like proteins in health and disease in Cavtat, Croatia from September 27 – October 1, 2024, on “The (Remaining) Mysteries of Ubiquitin”. She is honored for her outstanding contributions to understanding the structural and functional basis by which ubiquitylation controls the proteome
Congratulations to Professor Vaughn S. Cooper from the University of Pittsburgh, USA, who will be presenting the IUBMB Plenary Lecture at the XVIII Annual Meeting of the Argentine Society of General Microbiology SAMIGE in Chapadmalal, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina from October 2-5, 2023 on “Empowering Evolution to Teach Us How Microbes Interact with Surfaces, Drugs, and Host”. Congratulations to Dr. Gökhan Hotamışlıgil from Sabri Ülker Center for Metabolic Research at Harvard University School of Public Health, USA, who will be presenting the IUBMB Plenary Lecture at the International Biochemistry Congress 2023 & 34th National Biochemistry Congress in Fethiye, Turkey from October 29 – November 1, 2023, on “Subcellular Molecular Architecture as a Critical Determinant of Metabolic Programming”.
Congratulations to the 5 talented trainees from Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, who have received the inaugural IUBMB-FEBS-FEBS-FASBMB PROBio-Africa Fellowship to spend up to 6 months in a lab in Europe.
