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Although cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a novel cancer treatment modality, it still suffers from low therapeutic efficacy in clinics due to the presence of a low number of activated immune cells and immunosuppressive factors in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Immunomodulatory ribonucleic acids (RNAs) have been developed to improve the therapeutic efficacy of cancer immunotherapy through either regulating target cell functions [i.e., messenger RNA (mRNA) or small interfering RNA (siRNA)] or stimulating immune cells [i.e., toll-like receptors (TLRs) or cytosolic retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) agonist]. However, RNA-based therapeutics face many biological barriers, including ineffective delivery to target cells, degradation by ribonucleases (RNases), and difficulties in passing through the cellular membranes. In this review, we discuss nanoparticle-based delivery strategies that can overcome these hurdles to enhance RNA-based immunomodulation in cancer immunotherapy. Various nanoparticle-based delivery has been reported to increase the delivery efficacy of RNAs, by improving cellular uptake, RNA stability, and accumulation at the desired sites (target cells and intracellular compartments). The nanoparticle-based delivery of multifaceted immunomodulatory RNAs could enhance cancer immunotherapy through the regulating functions of immune cells, tumor cells, and immunosuppressive factors as well as stimulating the immune cells by recognition of endosomal TLRs and cytosolic RIG-I. Nanotechnology-assisted RNA-based therapeutics are expected to offer tremendous potential and advances for treating cancer, viral infections, and other diseases., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Streptomyces venezuelae ATCC 15439, which produces 12- and 14-membered ring macrolide antibiotics, is a platform strain for heterologous expression of secondary metabolites. Its 9.05-Mb genome sequence revealed an abundance of genes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and their precursors, which should be useful for the production of bioactive compounds., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Engineering enzyme substrate specificity is a promising approach that can expand the applicability of enzymes for the biocatalytic production of industrial chemicals and fuels. In this study, succinic semialdehyde reductase (AKR7A5) was engineered for the conversion of levulinic acid to 4-hydroxyvaleric acid. Levulinic acid is a derivative of cellulosic biomass, and 4-hydroxyvaleric acid is a potential precursor to bio-polymers and fuels. Therefore, the enzymatic conversion of levulinic acid to 4-hydroxyvaleric acid is of special significance in that this conversion could provide a meaningful basis for the bio-production of useful chemicals from cellulosic biomass. In engineering the substrate specificity of the AKR7A5, a rational design approach with the aid of enzyme-substrate interatomic contact analysis was applied. The Met13 residue was selected as a key mutation site, and substitutions of the residue with six hydrophobic amino acids were applied. As a result, four mutants with enhanced catalytic activity toward levulinic acid were obtained, and the most improved mutant, Met13Trp, exhibited a 7.0-fold increase in catalytic efficiency. Additionally, the structural effects of the positive mutations were investigated to analyze the structural basis for the enzyme substrate specificity with the target substrate., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB) is one of the most useful enzyme for various reactions and bioconversions. Enhancing thermostability of CalB is required for industrial applications. In this study, we propose a computational design strategy to improve the thermostability of CalB. Molecular dynamics simulations at various temperatures were used to investigate the common fluctuation sites in CalB, which are considered to be thermally weak points. The RosettaDesign algorithm was used to design the selected residues. The redesigned CalB was simulated to verify both the enhancement of intramolecular interactions and the lowering of the overall root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values. The A251E mutant designed using this strategy showed a 2.5-fold higher thermostability than the wild-type CalB. This strategy could apply to other industry applicable enzymes., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the potential use of peroxidases as industrial biocatalysts, their practical application is often impeded due to suicide inactivation by radicals generated in oxidative reactions. Using a peroxidase from Coprinus cinereus (CiP) as a model enzyme, we revealed a dominant factor for peroxidase inactivation during phenol oxidation, and we engineered radical-stable mutants by site-directed mutagenesis of an amino acid residue susceptible to modification by phenoxyl radical. Mass spectrometry analysis of inactivated CiP identified an adduct between F230 and a phenoxyl radical, and subsequently, the F230 residue was mutated to amino acids that resisted radical coupling. Of the F230 mutants, the F230A mutant showed the highest stability against radical inactivation, retaining 80% of its initial activity, while the wild-type protein was almost completely inactivated. The F230A mutant also exhibited a 16-fold higher turnover of the phenol substrate compared with the wild-type enzyme. Furthermore, the F230A mutant was stable during the oxidation of other phenolic compounds, including m-cresol and 3-methoxyphenol. No structural changes were observed by UV-vis and CD spectra of CiP after radical coupling, implying that the F230-phenol radical adduct inactivated CiP by blocking substrate access to the active site. Our novel strategy can be used to improve the stability of other peroxidases inactivated by radicals., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Expression plasmids carrying different deoxysugar biosynthetic gene cassettes and the gene encoding a substrate-flexible glycosyltransferase DesVII were constructed and introduced into Streptomyces venezuelae YJ003 mutant strain bearing a deletion of a desosamine biosynthetic (des) gene cluster. The resulting recombinants produced macrolide antibiotic YC-17 analogs possessing unnatural sugars replacing native D-desosamine. These metabolites were isolated and further purified using chromatographic techniques and their structures were determined as D-quinovosyl-10-deoxymethynolide, L-rhamnosyl-10-deoxymethynolide, L-olivosyl-10-deoxymethynolide, and D-boivinosyl-10-deoxymethynolide on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR and MS analyses and the stereochemistry of sugars was confirmed using coupling constant values and NOE correlations. Their antibacterial activities were evaluated in vitro against erythromycin-susceptible and -resistant Enterococcus faecium and Staphylococcus aureus. Substitution with L-rhamnose displayed better antibacterial activity than parent compound YC-17 containing native sugar D-desosamine. The present study on relationships between chemical structures and antibacterial activities could be useful in generation of novel advanced antibiotics utilizing combinatorial biosynthesis approach., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Enzyme reactions in organic solvent such as for organic synthesis have great industrial potential. However, enzymes lose their stability in hydrophilic organic solvents due to the deformation of the enzyme by the solvent. It is thus important to enhance the stability of enzymes in hydrophilic organic solvents. Previous approaches have not considered on the interaction between enzymes and solvents due to the lack of information. In this study, the structural motions of the enzyme in methanol cosolvent and the interaction between the enzyme surface and the solvent molecule were investigated using molecular dynamics simulation (MD). By analyzing the MD simulation results, the surface residues of Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB) with higher root mean square deviation (RMSD) in a methanol solvent were considered as methanol affecting site and selected for site-directed mutagenesis. The methanol affecting site was computationally redesigned by lowering the RMSD. Among the candidate mutants, the A8T, A92E, N97Q and T245S mutants showed higher organic solvent stability at various methanol concentrations. The rational approach developed in this study could be applied to the stabilization of other industrial enzymes used in organic solvents., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

One widely known drawback of enzymes is their instability in diverse conditions. The thermostability of enzymes is particularly relevant for industrial applications because operation at high temperatures has the advantage of a faster reaction rate. Protein stability is mainly determined in this study by intra-molecular hydrophobic interactions that have a collective and 3-dimensional clustering effect. To interpret the thermostability of enzymes, network analysis was introduced into the protein structure, and a network parameter of structural hierarchy, k of k-clique, was used to discern more developed hydrophobic interaction clusters in the protein structure. The favorable clustering conformations of hydrophobic residues, which seemed to be important for protein thermostability, were discovered by the application of a network analysis to hydrophobic interactions of GH11 xylanases. Coordinating higher k-clique hydrophobic interaction clusters through the site-directed mutagenesis of the model enzyme, Bacillus circulans xylanase, stabilized the local structure and thus improved thermostability, such that the enzyme half-life and melting temperature increased by 78 fold and 8.8 °C, respectively. This study highlights the advantages of interpreting collective hydrophobic interaction patterns and their structural hierarchy and the possibility of applying network analysis to the thermostabilization of enzymes., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Low thermostability often hampers the applications of xylanases in industrial processes operated at high temperature, such as degradation of biomass or pulp bleaching. Thermostability of enzymes can be improved by the optimization of unstable residues via protein engineering. In this study, computational modeling instead of random mutagenesis was used to optimize unstable residues of Bacillus circulans xylanase (Bcx). The thermal fluctuations of unstable residues known as important to the thermal unfolding of Bcx were investigated by the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 300 K and 330 K to identify promising residues. The N52 site in unstable regions showed the highest thermal fluctuations. Subsequently, computational design was conducted to predict the optimal sequences of unstable residues. Five optimal single mutants were predicted by the computational design, and the N52Y mutation showed the thermostabilization effect. The N52 residue is conserved in Bacillus species xylanases and the structure analysis revealed that the N52Y mutation introduced more hydrophobic clusters for thermostability, as well as a more favorable aromatic stacking environment for substrate binding. We confirm that flexible residues at high temperature in unstable regions can be promising targets to improve thermostability of enzymes., (© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Parkinson's disease is caused by a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Since l-DOPA (l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) is a precursor of dopamine and can pass across the blood-brain barrier, it has been used as a treatment for Parkinson's disease. Hundreds tons of l-DOPA are produced per year, and most of the current supply is produced by a chemical method of asymmetric synthesis. However, the chemical process for l-DOPA synthesis requires an expensive metal catalyst and shows low conversion rates and low enantioselectivity. In this study, we developed a novel technology for the production of l-DOPA, an electroenzymatic synthesis with a tyrosinase-immobilized cathode under the reduction potential of DOPAquinone, which is -530 mV. Compared to other approaches for l-DOPA synthesis reported previously, this electroenzymatic system showed the highest conversion rate and a highly enhanced productivity of up to 95.9% and 47.27 mg l(-1)h(-1), respectively., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite recent advances in our understanding of the importance of protein-surface properties for protein thermostability, to date many rational designs have been focused instead on protein-core characteristics such as core packing and cavity filling. Rational strategies to design protein surfaces to improve protein thermostability have not yet been well investigated. Here, an efficient rational design of a surface cavity for improving protein thermostability without reducing enzyme activity is suggested. Bacillus circulans xylanase (Bcx) was used as a model enzyme. Two structural features related to protein thermostability, protein cavities and flexibility were considered to identify thermo-labile residues. Residues with flexible motions in surface cavities were selected and redesigned for xylanase thermostabilization using a computational method to stabilize the local interactions of the surface cavities. Three thermostable single mutants (F48Y, T50V, and T147L) were experimentally identified, and combination of the single mutants resulted in a more thermostable triple mutant (F48Y/T50V/T147L). The thermostability and the catalytic efficiency of the triple mutant were 15 times and 1.3 times higher than wild-type Bcx, respectively. Our surface-cavity design strategy showed that flexible surface residues tolerant to mutations are valid targets for thermostabilization with no reduction in catalytic activity, and that local-interaction stabilization of cavity-lining residues using the computational method can be an effective alternative to the conventional cavity-filling method. This strategy can be used as a practical approach to increase protein thermostability., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phenylpropanoids, including flavonoids and stilbenes, are plant secondary metabolites with potential pharmacological and nutraceutical properties. To expand the applicability of Streptomyces venezuelae as a heterologous host to plant polyketide production, flavonoid and stilbene biosynthetic genes were expressed in an engineered strain of S. venezuelae DHS2001 bearing a deletion of native pikromycin polyketide synthase gene. A plasmid expressing the 4-coumarate/cinnamate:coenzyme A ligase from Streptomyces coelicolor (ScCCL) and the chalcone synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana (atCHS) under the control of a single ermE* promoter was constructed and introduced into S. venezuelae DHS2001. The resulting strain produced racemic naringenin and pinocembrin from 4-coumaric acid and cinnamic acid, respectively. Placement of an additional ermE* promoter upstream of the codon-optimized atCHS (atCHS(op)) gene significantly increased the yield of both flavanones. Expression of codon-optimized chalcone isomerase gene from Medicago sativa, together with ScCCL and atCHS(op) genes led to production of (2S)-flavanones, but the yield was reduced. On the other hand, a recombinant strain harboring the ScCCL and codon-optimized stilbene synthase gene from Arachis hypogaea generated stilbenes such as resveratrol and pinosylvin. This is the first report on the heterologous expression of plant phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathways in Streptomyces genus.

Although hydrolases are used in several industrial processes, its industrial applications have some limitations in specific cases since some industrial processes are carried out at pH value which is different from optimum pH of the enzyme. Alkaline side optimum pH of hydrolases is always desirable, and it is proved difficult to achieve that by mutation only. Hence, molecular modeling was applied to select the promising mutants. The changes in electrostatic potential, which was calculated using Delphi, were compared to the changes in pH optimum of four hydolases and their mutants. The results showed that the change in electrostatic potential can be used as an indicator for selecting relevant candidates of mutation. Bacillus circulans xylanase was selected as a model system, and the promising mutants were picked up by the molecular modeling. Q167M and R73V, had a higher pH optimum than the wild type, while K175Q had a similar pH-activity profile of the wild type.

Structural distributions of each amino acid were compared between 20 pairs of thermophilic and mesophilic proteins to obtain thermostable factors. Five kinds of residual structure states such as fully-exposed, exposed, partially exposed (or partially buried), buried, well-buried states were considered for analyzing the structural patterns of amino acids. The statistical tests revealed that lower frequency in partially exposed state of SER, lower frequency in exposed state and higher frequency in well-buried state of ALA, higher frequency in buried state of GLU, higher frequency in exposed state of ARG, etc. could be critical factors related with protein thermostability.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of a chitooligosaccharide mixture (MW 2000-30000 Da) with a deacetylation degree of 91.5% against two representative oral pathogens, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Streptococcus mutans. A 0.1% concentration of the chitooligosaccharides (derived from the exoskeletons of marine crustaceans) was used to estimate antibacterial activity. Approximately 2 logcolony forming units (CFU)/ml of A. actinomycetemcomitans were inactivated by 0.1% chitosan after 30 min, while 120 min exposure inactivated about 4.5 logCFU/ml of this organism. In contrast, the level of inactivation against S. mutans was less than 0.5 logCFU/ml after an exposure of up to 120 min. Electron microscopy showed that the exposure of A. actinomycetemcomitans to the chitooligosaccharides resulted in the disruption of cell membranes and that it could be considered for the treatment of periodontal diseases associated with A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Glucoamylase gene (STA1) of Saccharomyces diastaticus was expressed in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae systems. The yeast, GAL7 mRNA termination sequence, was introduced in the 3' noncoding region of the STA1 structural gene which was under the control of the SUC2 promoter and STA1 secretion signal sequence. This plasmid was named YEpSSG7 and was introduced into yeast S. cerevisiae MMY2 to construct recombinant S. cerevisiae MMY2SSG7. The GAL7 mRNA termination sequence enhanced the glucoamylase expression level by 3-5 times depending on the culture conditions compared to the result from the strain S. cerevisiae MMY2SUCSTA which did not contain the GAL7 mRNA termination sequence. Such an enhancement was not due to plasmid stability or plasmid copy number effects. Such an enhancement was primarily due to the fact that GAL7 mRNA termination sequence stabilized the STA1 mRNA 3' end.