BackgroundsA new highly pathogenic human coronavirus (CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), has emerged in Jeddah and Saudi Arabia and quickly spread to some European countries since September 2012. Until 15 May 2014, it has infected at least 572 people with a fatality rate of about 30% globally. Studies to understand the virus and to develop antiviral drugs or therapy are necessary and urgent. In the present study, MERS-CoV papain-like protease (PLpro) is expressed, and its structural and functional consequences are elucidated.ResultsCircular dichroism and Tyr/Trp fluorescence analyses indicated that the secondary and tertiary structure of MERS-CoV PLpro is well organized and folded. Analytical ultracentrifugation analyses demonstrated that MERS-CoV PLpro is a monomer in solution. The steady-state kinetic and deubiquitination activity assays indicated that MERS-CoV PLpro exhibits potent deubiquitination activity but lower proteolytic activity, compared with SARS-CoV PLpro. A natural mutation, Leu105, is the major reason for this difference.ConclusionsOverall, MERS-CoV PLpro bound by an endogenous metal ion shows a folded structure and potent proteolytic and deubiquitination activity. These findings provide important insights into the structural and functional properties of coronaviral PLpro family, which is applicable to develop strategies inhibiting PLpro against highly pathogenic coronaviruses.

Li‐ion Batteries In article number 2200197, Yong Yang and co‐workers report a novel lattice‐coherent LiCoPO4 coating on LiCoO2 (LCO), derived by the in‐situ chemical reaction of Co(OH)2 and LiH2PO4, that can effectively alleviate irreversible structure transition and resist electrolyte corrosion, ensuring a high‐voltage LCO electrode (≥4.6V), and stable operation in portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, computers, tablets, etc., to meet the high‐energy demand of the coming 5G era.

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Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) has important roles in metabolism and is crucial for virulence for some pathogenic bacteria. PC contains biotin carboxylase (BC), carboxyltransferase (CT) and biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP) components. It is a single-chain enzyme in eukaryotes and most bacteria, and functions as a 500 kD homo-tetramer. In contrast, PC is a two-subunit enzyme in a collection of Gram-negative bacteria, with the α subunit containing the BC and the β subunit the CT and BCCP domains, and it is believed that the holoenzyme has α4β4 stoichiometry. We report here the crystal structures of a two-subunit PC from Methylobacillus flagellatus. Surprisingly, our structures reveal an α2β4 stoichiometry, and the overall architecture of the holoenzyme is strikingly different from that of the homo-tetrameric PCs. Biochemical and mutagenesis studies confirm the stoichiometry and other structural observations. Our functional studies in Pseudomonas aeruginosa show that its two-subunit PC is important for colony morphogenesis.

Novozym 234 was the most frequently used enzyme for production of Rhizoctonia solani protoplasts. Since manufacture of this enzyme was discontinued in the late 1990s, a new procedure was developed by testing lytic enzymes from Sigma and by examining factors affecting protoplast formation. The combination of 20 mg/mL Driselase and 10mg/mL lysing enzyme was effective in releasing protoplasts from R. solani. The optimal condition for enzyme treatment of mycelium was incubation at 37 degrees C for 15 min followed by 34 degrees C for 105 min. The amount of protoplasts produced was positively correlated with growth rate and negatively correlated with mycelial density. Under favorable conditions, R. solani mycelia released 1.68 x 10(6) protoplasts/mL that is comparable with that produced with Novozym 234. Among various media tested, the best solid medium for protoplast regeneration was 1% V-8 juice agar, while the best liquid medium was 10% potato dextrose broth.

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Morroniside exerts a proosteogenic effect, which can prevent bone loss. However, the detailed mechanism underlying Morroniside-regulated bone formation is unclear. Morroniside can maintain cell homeostasis by promoting PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. The purpose of this study is to explore the significance of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in Morroniside-regulated osteogenesis. The results showed that Morroniside promoted the activities of PI3K, Akt, and mTOR in osteoblast precursor MC3T3-E1. The differentiation of MC3T3-E1 to mature osteoblasts promoted by Morroniside can be reversed by the pharmacological inhibition of PI3K or mTOR. Importantly, in the presence of Morroniside, the osteoblast differentiation suppressed by PI3K inhibitor was reversed by mTOR overexpression. In vivo assays showed that in bone tissue of ovariectomized mice, Morroniside-enhanced osteoblast formation was reversed by the pharmacological inhibition of PI3K or mTOR. In conclusion, Morroniside can promote the osteogenesis through PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling, which provides a novel clue for the strategy of Morroniside in treating osteoporosis.

Background: To date, there is no licensed vaccine available to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. The valuable pre-fusion conformation of the fusion protein (pre-F) is prone to lose high neutralizing antigenic sites. The goals of this study were to stabilize pre-F protein by fixatives and try to find the possibility of developing an inactivated RSV vaccine. Methods: The screen of the optimal fixative condition was performed with flow cytometry. BALB/c mice were immunized intramuscularly with different immunogens. The serum neutralizing antibody titers of immunized mice were determined by neutralization assay. The protection and safety of these immunogens were assessed. Results: Fixation in an optimal concentration of formaldehyde (0.0244%–0.0977%) or paraformaldehyde (0.0625%–1%) was able to stabilize pre-F. Additionally, BALB/c mice inoculated with optimally stabilized pre-F protein (opti-fixed) induced a higher anti-RSV neutralization (9.7 log2, mean value of dilution rate) than those inoculated with unstable (unfixed, 8.91 log2, p < 0.01) or excessively fixed (exce-fixed, 7.28 log2, p < 0.01) pre-F protein. Furthermore, the opti-fixed immunogen did not induce enhanced RSV disease. Conclusions: Only the proper concentration of fixatives could stabilize pre-F and the optimal formaldehyde condition provides a potential reference for development of an inactivated RSV vaccine.