chlaraplast – BioQuakes

Author: chlaraplast

Humans and Plants appear as different as can be on the outside. Humans move while plants are stationary. Humans obtain energy through food, while plants make their own food. But on the biochemical level, we are more similar to plants than one might think. Scientists continue to discover links between humans and plants.

In fact, a research team at the University of Kentucky created a study that reveals a biochemical connection between plant immune responses and human neurological health. They discovered that the metabolic pathways in regulating vitamin B6 homeostasis—critical in certain forms of epilepsy and immune function—are shared by both plants and humans.

To better understand this link, the team focused on lysine catabolism. Lysine is an essential amino acid used for protein synthesis, calcium absorption, and the production of enzymes, hormones, and antibodies. The team observed that plants produce Δ1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid (P6C) during the breakdown of lysine. When the level of P6C in plants increases, it disrupts the vitamin B6 balance, exhausting key forms of B6 and compromising the plant’s immune system.

Accumulation of P6C also leads to negative effects in humans, specifically in neurological health. A buildup of P6C in humans is linked to pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy, a genetic disorder that depletes vitamin B6 and can lead to prolonged seizures. People with this type of epilepsy can be given large medical doses of pyridoxine, a type of vitamin B6 found in food, to regulate their depleted levels. This connection enforces the shared metabolic pathway between plants and humans.

Huazhen Liu, the study’s lead researcher, claims that the study’s findings—that the same molecular pathways that produce P6C regulate immunity in plants and neurological health in humans—highlight deep evolutionary processes that configure biochemical signaling. These findings emphasize how vitamins and amino acids have been conserved for millions of years through evolution, influencing both plant and human functions.

Researchers found that certain enzymes found in lysine metabolism were originally acquired in plants from bacterial sources due to horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Horizontal gene transfer is when genes are transferred between different species and it plays an important role in eukaryotic genetic evolution. Over time, these enzymes were repurposed to regulate vitamin B6 levels and detoxify reactive metabolic intermediates, which are short-lived high-energy molecules. Furthermore, plant species that have acquired these genes from bacteria maintained more stable B6 levels, thus increasing their chance of survival and reproduction.

Additionally, HGT relates to molecular fitness, a topic from AP Biology, because they both involve the inheritance of molecular adaptations that improve an organism’s chance of survival and reproduction. Whether it’s bacterial enzymes that regulate B6 levels in plants or adulthood lactase persistence in humans, these adaptations provide evolutionary advantages. Molecular fitness refers to competition due to different metabolic processes occurring at the cellular level, where certain molecular adaptations allow organisms to make better use of available resources, increasing the likelihood of survival and passing on these traits. The key difference between the two is that molecular fitness arises from genetic variations inherited from parents, for example, through a mutation. HGT, however, occurs when advantageous genes or adaptations are transferred from one species to another rather than as a random mutation. Despite this difference, both of these processes contribute to evolutionary successes and increased rates of survival for an organism in its environment.

Ultimately, this research from the University of Kentucky study reveals a biochemical link between plants and humans through regulating the B6 vitamin and why it’s essential for immune responses and neurological health. This study also sheds light on the importance of diet for neurological health. As a teenager, I want to live a long and healthy life in the future, so learning about low B6 levels and its effects is very eye-opening for me. I want to do everything I can to regulate my vitamin B6. Eating plant-based foods, including spinach, bananas, and carrots, is one way I can easily consume the vitamin and potentially reduce the risk of pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy. As scientists continue to discover more biochemical links between humans and plants, we may find more ways a plant-based diet could support human health.

Original Article

https://w.wiki/DD2Y– link to wikimedia photo

Additional Links: Inherited Disorders of Lysine; Horizontal Gene Transfer

Clearing the Fog: Exploring the Relationship Between COVID-19 and Cognitive Impairment

By chlaraplast

On December 16, 2024

In Student Post

Have there been moments where you’ve lost your train of thought? Or forget something you just heard? Or did your brain just feel “foggy?” At some point, we have experienced these “Brain Fog” moments.

But for those recovering from the SARS-CoV-2 infection, this “fog” can be more serious and more frequent. Those who experience long COVID (a COVID-19-related medical condition after three months post-infection) may experience a symptom of cognitive impairment. These include memory loss, difficulty learning, and fatigue.

Previously, there had been limited information and research about the link between cognitive impairment and SARS-CoV-2. However, Sarah Lutz and her University of Illinois Chicago team decided to investigate mice and solve the ultimate question: Why does a COVID-19 infection trigger these neurological issues?

First, the team infected a sample of mice with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Then they chose to examine the infected mice’s blood-brain barriers (BBB).

But what is a blood-brain barrier? Well, it’s a semipermeable membrane formed by endothelial cells. Its purpose is to allow cerebral blood vessels to regulate the movement of molecules in and out of the brain. It’s also responsible for maintaining neuronal function homeostasis and preventing harmful substances circulating in the bloodstream from entering the brain. As part of our Cell Communication unit, we learned about positive and negative feedback loops and their reactions. We learned that negative feedback loops are a response to a type of change or disturbance in a biological system and create a reaction to return to the target set point or equilibrium. The blood-brain barrier system resembles negative feedback loops because once there is a disturbance in the barrier, a regulatory response is activated to quickly try and repair it and revert conditions back to normal. Both negative feedback loops and the blood-brain barrier have the same goal: maintaining homeostasis.

Focusing back on the experiment to ensure her results accurately reflect the population, Lutz mimicked her research on current health conditions and patterns. For instance, the team specifically tracked mice with mild infections rather than severe ones since most of the COVID-19 cases in humans today are mild due to vaccines. They also focused on older mice as subjects for their research to account for age being a risk factor for cognitive impairment in COVID-19-infected humans.

Then, the team infected the mice with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and examined their blood-brain barriers. They discovered that after receiving the infection, the mice’s BBB vessels became less strong and more leaky, providing less protection for the brain. In addition, the infected mice also displayed signs of memory loss and cognitive impairment, the research team found.

Several studies have been conducted that mirror these results. For example, an analysis of the U.S. Current Population Survey showed that after the start of the pandemic, an additional one million U.S. residents of working age reported having difficulty remembering, concentrating, and making decisions than at any time in the preceding 15 years. A further study used an online assessment tool to test cognitive impairment. They gathered 800,000 people who experienced COVID-19 symptoms for over 12 weeks. Subjects with mild symptoms, on average, scored three fewer IQ points than the control group. Those with unresolved persistent systems had a 6-point deficit.

Furthermore, the National Library of Medicine connects damages in the blood-brain barrier to conditions such as stroke and epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, highlighting its relation to memory and reasoning problems.

Interestingly, the infected mice both had leaky BBBs and exhibited signs of cognitive impairment. Is there some type of relationship between the two?

While further examining the mice’s blood vessels and the specific genes, Lutz noticed a significant decrease in the signaling pathway, Wnt/beta-catenin. The Wnt pathway stabilizes beta-catenin, allows it to interact with transcription factors in the nucleus, and triggers specific cellular responses, including cell growth and division. It’s a significant pathway in brain development during embryonic development, and damage to it can lead to cancer or brain tumors. Another function is to improve the health and maturation of the BBB, which is what the Lutz team focuses on.

These findings about the Wnt pathway opened the door for another test: whether stimulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway could change the composition of the BBB after Sars-CoV2 infection.

The team explored a specific gene therapy to activate the pathway and tested if it could improve the cognitive impairment of the infected mice. The results supported their hypothesis- the mice had less blood-brain barrier leakage and enhanced memory and learning!

Ultimately, Lutz’s study provides an important link between the blood-brain barrier and the effects of cognitive impairment due to long COVID. Since there is still limited information, the team believes that more research should be conducted about the blood-brain barrier, the whole brain in general, and its relationship to COVID-19 since it can prevent further complications and issues. However, these results are a stepping stone in the right direction. To one day create a therapy to prevent humans from experiencing cognitive impairment post-SARS-CoV2 infection!

The results of this study make me very hopeful for the future as well. Several of my family members have experienced Long COVID and have experienced Long COVID and have experienced symptoms, including problems with taste and smell. Luckily, no one in my family has experienced neurological problems such as memory loss as a symptom; however, many people I know do have loved ones who unfortunately have developed severe cognitive impairment as a result of COVID-19, and it’s hard seeing these changes develop in the people you love the most. Through research such as this, maybe one day, this problem of leaky blood-brain barriers could be eradicated, and no one will ever have to experience these pains after a COVID-19 infection again.

Link to Main Source

Workout Supplements Right in the Backyard

By chlaraplast

On October 24, 2024

In Student Post

Have you heard about lettuce that can help astronauts reduce bone loss in space? This phenomenon is just one example of the new developments in biotechnology today.

In today’s fast-paced world, scientists continually search for the most efficient and sustainable way to produce bioproducts- products that are made up of some biological component or renewable material. But did you know there is a large domain of organisms that can produce a variety of materials (such as food, medicines and building materials), is sustainable, and we can find it outside our house? Yes, it’s Plants!

So what happens to these plants? Well biotechnicians have been working on genetic engineering and synthetic biology techniques to transfer biological inputs into plants and have them produce outputs that wouldn’t usually occur in nature. For example, using synthetic biology to make a tobacco plant produce animal-based nutrients commonly found in workout supplements.

On multiple occasions, scientists have successfully used specialized bacteria to transfer DNA instructions from simple compounds, such as peptides or molecules, into plant cells. But, while transferring of more complex compounds, the added DNA can alter the plant’s metabolism and provide less desired outcome. However, the American Chemical Society published a proof-of-concept study led by Pengxiang Fan and his colleagues that came up with a way to overcome this setback.

The team’s research objective was to produce a significant yield of three animal-based nutrients- creatine, carnosine, and taurine- from inside a plant. All three of these nutrients have specific functions that encourage people to use them as workout supplements. For instance, creatine promotes increased glycogen storage in muscle. As we learned in class, glycogen is a storage polysaccharide that holds connected glucose molecules in the liver and muscles of animal cells. Since glucose (sugar) is the body’s main form of energy, the more glucose stored in our body, the more energy we have available for usage. This biological function is why many sports teams at FA have pasta parties the night before a big game, to make sure they store enough energy to burn! While connecting back to creatine supplements, if creatinine increases glycogen production, a person with more creatine can store more energy and have more of the nutrient available for exercise- desirable for many athletes.

For this experiment, Fan introduced the necessary instructions needed to create creatine, carnosine, and taurine from synthetic modules: designed systems that use artificial components to mimic functions of natural processes but that wouldn’t occur naturally. These models were developed and stacked to ensure the plant understood the specific processes to create the three products. The modules also included instructions for the particular molecules needed to make the three nutrients to ensure the plant was fully aware of everything it needed to do.

The team decided to use Nicotiana benthamiana, a plant similar to tobacco, as the host and model organism for their experiment.

Each of the three nutrients had different yields. The synthetic module for creatine contained the two genes that would encourage synthesis. After its transfer to the Nicotiana benthamiana, it resulted in a ratio of 2.3 micrograms of the nutrient per gram of plant material. A small amount, but still measurable. For the dipeptide carnosine, the researchers created two modules. One was for carnosine, and another one was for the amino acids needed to build it. By combining these two modules, the plant was able to produce 3.8 times more carnosine than before, showing that adding extra instructions is helpful for the plant. Lastly, the researchers used the double synthetic model to synthesize- combining multiple compounds to make a different compound- taurine. However, this attempt did not work and instead caused a disruption in the metabolism of the Nicotiana benthamiana plant. The plant was so focused on restoring itself that little taurine was produced as a result.

Fan and his team concluded that employing double synthetic modules is an effective framework for producing some of the complex nutrients found in animals and plants. As we saw with taurine, however, this process does not work for every compound.

In the future, this process of double synthetic modules can be applied to fruit and vegetable plants, where they can act as biological factories to produce these nutrients sustainably.

Creatine, carnosine, and taurine all have significant health benefits, even for those like me who are not the most athletic. Absorbing these nutrients can lead to better skeletal muscle health and energy storage (as stated earlier) and prevent mitochondrial disorders. Red meat is an excellent source of these nutrients, but there is evidence that overconsumption can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As a teenager who aspires to build healthy habits that will last into my adulthood, I am very interested in synthetic biology. I hope this research continues to develop so that one day, we won’t have to choose between not having these important nutrients and an increased risk for CVD. Instead, we will be able to transfer the DNA of these nutrients into fruits and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables won’t just be healthy for you; it could also provide animal-based nutrients and even be the newest workout supplement.

Main Article: American Chemical Society. “Turning plants into workout supplement bio-factories.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 October 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241002104536.htm>.

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: chlaraplast

The Hidden Link: Plants and Humans, More Similar Than You Think.

Clearing the Fog: Exploring the Relationship Between COVID-19 and Cognitive Impairment

Workout Supplements Right in the Backyard

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