Biology subjects

Du, Y.

Publications and source records attributed to Du, Y..

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

MOSPD3 mediates the ER recruitment of ATG2A to promote autophagy

ATG2A transfers glycerophospholipids from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to support expansion of the isolation membrane at ER membrane contact sites. While a role for ATG18/WIPI4 in targeting ATG2A to the IM is well established, how ATG2A is recruited to the ER remains unclear. In this study, we found that MOSPD3, an atypical VAP family protein, acts an adaptor that recruits ATG2A to the ER. MOSPD3 colocalizes with ATG2A and is specifically enriched at ER sites juxtaposed with the IM during autophagosome formation. Recruitment is mediated by direct interactions between the FFNT (two phenylalanines in a neutral tract) motif in the N-terminal region (NT) of ATG2A and the major sperm protein (MSP) domain of MOSPD3. Co-expression of MOSPD3 with ATG2A-NT, but not a MOSPD3-binding-defective mutant ATG2A-NT-T362A, markedly rescued the autophagic defect caused by ATG2A/B double knockout (DKO). MOSPD3 depletion abolishes ATG2A recruitment to the ER and impedes autophagic flux. Together, this study demonstrates that MOSPD3 functions as an ER adaptor for ATG2A in autophagy.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

The conserved NUS-1/DHDDS complex links N-glycosylation to lipid and lysosomal homeostasis in C. elegans

N-glycosylation, driven by the cis-prenyltransferase (cis-PT) complex, a NUS1 and DHDDS heterotetramer, is vital for proteome integrity. Despite being linked to severe congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs), the systemic role of NUS1/DHDDS remains elusive. Here, we characterize the conserved C. elegans cis-PT complex and uncover a critical crosstalk with global lipid metabolism. cis-PT deficiency induces catastrophic ER stress, global glycoprotein defects, and developmental failure. Mechanistically, NUS-1 physically interacts with the core oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex, directly coupling substrate synthesis to N-glycan transfer. Loss of NUS-1 or DHDDS causes systemic lipopenia, lysosomal dysfunction, and cholesterol sequestration, resulting from impaired N-glycosylation of key regulatory glycoproteins like SCAP. Utilizing CDG-associated CRISPR models, we resolve the molecular basis for cis-PT dysfunction, identifying interface disruption and catalytic impairment as distinct disease etiologies. These findings collectively reveal a critical and previously unappreciated crosstalk between protein glycosylation and global lipid metabolism, establishing a robust system to explore CDG pathology and therapeutic strategies.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Benchmarking computational methods for multi-omics biomarker discovery in cancer

Multi-omics profiling characterizes cancer biology and supports biomarker discovery for prognosis and therapy selection. Although numerous computational multi-omics biomarker identification methods have been proposed, their ability to identify clinically relevant biomarkers has not been systematically evaluated, leaving it unclear whether the resulting biomarker nominations are reliable for downstream validation. Here we systematically benchmark 20 representative statistical, machine learning and deep learning methods using curated gold-standard prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers across five real-world datasets. We evaluate performance in terms of both biomarker identification accuracy and stability. Overall, DeePathNet and Deep-KEGG achieve the best performance. Across methods, effective biomarker recovery is associated with the integration of biological knowledge, global feature interactions, multivariate feature attribution, and effective regularization. Analysis of omics type contributions reveals method- and modality-specific biases, highlighting the importance of broader omics integration. We further evaluate methods on simulated datasets to probe sensitivity with controlled signal and noise. By aggregating results from top-performing methods, we construct consensus biomarker panels that nominate candidates for potential investigations. Finally, we provide user-friendly interfaces to allow researchers to benchmark new methods against the 20 baselines or apply selected methods for biomarker identification on custom multi-omics datasets. Our benchmark is publicly available at https://github.com/athanzli/CancerMOBI-Bench.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2025

Hepatocyte and adipocyte CDO1-mediated intracellular cysteine catabolism differentially modulates diet-induced obesity and fatty liver in mice

Background and AimsPlasma cysteine has been positively linked to BMI in humans. Consistently, dietary cysteine restriction significantly decreases obesity in mice via mechanisms that are incompletely defined. Cysteine dioxygenase type 1 (CDO1) mediates the major cysteine catabolism pathway and is highly expressed in hepatocytes and adipocytes. The goal of this study is to determine the impact of this endogenous cysteine catabolism pathway on obesity and fatty liver disease. MethodsDiet-induced obesity and fatty liver disease were studied in hepatocyte-specific CDO1 knockout mice (L-CDO1-KO), hepatocyte-specific CDO1 transgenic mice (L-CDO1-Tg), adipocyte-specific CDO1 knockout mice (Ad-CDO1-KO), and adipocyte-specific CDO1 transgenic mice (Ad-CDO1-Tg). ResultsDeletion of hepatocyte CDO1 decreased cysteine conversion to cysteine sulfinic acid, and had modest impact on liver cysteine, GSH, or taurine abundance. When fed a Western diet (WD), L-CDO1-KO mice showed elevated liver injury markers and inflammatory infiltration independent of obesity or steatosis. When fed a fibrogenic high fat/cholesterol/fructose diet (HFCFr), L-CDO1-KO mice developed worsened liver fibrosis. In contrast, L-CDO1-Tg mice fed WD showed lower blood glucose, but similar degree of obesity and steatosis compared to WT mice. Deletion of CDO1 in white and brown adipocytes of Ad-CDO1-KO mice had no effect on WD-induced obesity. In contrast, overexpression of CDO1 in white and brown adipocytes attenuated WD-induced obesity, which resulted in reduced hepatic steatosis. ConclusionGenetic manipulation of intracellular cysteine catabolism in hepatocytes and adipocytes differentially modulates diet-induced obesity and fatty liver, which warrants future mechanistic investigation to better understand cellular cysteine sensing mechanisms and cysteine control of cell metabolism.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2025

PRSNet-2: End-to-end genotype-to-phenotype prediction via hierarchical graph neural networks

The emergence of large-scale biobanks has opened unprecedented opportunities for the development of data-driven approaches, especially deep learning-based methods, for genotype-to-phenotype (G2P) prediction. However, designing an end-to-end framework capable of directly leveraging extremely high-dimensional genotypic data while simultaneously mitigating overfitting and ensuring robust prediction remains a significant challenge. In this study, we introduce PRSNet-2, an interpretable end-to-end deep learning framework designed to predict complex phenotypes directly from large-scale genotypic data. PRSNet-2 proposes a novel hierarchical graph neural network (GNN) architecture, which first employs a multi-kernel aggregator to map high-dimensional genotypic features to gene-level representations. Next, it models gene-gene interactions through message-passing operations and uses an attention-based readout module to generate interpretable phenotypic predictions. We further introduce significance-guided regularization strategies to boost models generalizability based on prior genetic associations. Extensive empirical evaluations across multiple complex traits and diseases demonstrate that PRSNet-2 consistently outperforms a variety of baseline methods and exhibits superior capabilities in overcoming overfitting, even when modeling around half a million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Moreover, PRSNet-2 is shown to be easily extendable to integrate multiple genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets into a single model, thereby enhancing predictive performance for both single-phenotype and multi-phenotype prediction tasks. The inherent interpretability of PRSNet-2 further facilitates the identification of disease-relevant genes, functional gene modules, and potential therapeutic targets. In summary, PRSNet-2 offers a powerful, versatile tool for both genetic risk stratification and the discovery of biological insights.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Ferroptosis governs lymphatic vessel growth and regression

Whether, when, and how lymphatic vessels undergo cell death remains poorly understood. Here we identify ferroptosis as a physiological, cell-intrinsic regulator of the lymphatic endothelial cell survival during development and following injury, in stark contrast to the resilient organotypic blood endothelial cells. The lymphatic susceptibility to ferroptosis stems from tampered cystine/ hydropersulfide metabolism, alongside reduced glutathione availability triggered by an SH3RF3 E3 ligase mediated GPX4 degradation, and enhanced integration of polyunsaturated fatty acid enriched membrane phospholipids. Inducing ferroptosis genetically or pharmacologically elevated lymphatic lipid peroxidation, halted embryonic lymphangiogenesis and prevented post-injury lymphatic overgrowth while simultaneously shaped immune responses. Conversely, ferroptosis inhibition through saturated fatty acid supplementation led to pathological lymphatic hyperplasia. Targeting lymphatic ferroptotic mechanisms holds promise against pathological lymphatic growth in response to injury.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Scalable production of immune-silent circular RNAs for efficient protein expression

Messenger RNA-based therapeutics enable transient protein expression but are limited by its instability. Circular RNA (circRNA) offers enhanced stability, yet scalable production of high-purity circRNA remains challenging. Here, we report an oligo (dT) matrix-based purification strategy for tunable, scalable circRNA production at room temperature. By adjusting poly (A) length, circRNAs are positioned at the midpoint of the oligo (dT) elution profile, enabling one-step separation from both weakly and strongly bound RNA contaminants. We demonstrate that this approach scales linearly with comparable yields for small- and large-scale purifications. In scale-up experiments, 331 mg of highly pure circRNA was recovered in a single run. Incorporating alkaline phosphatase and RNase R digestion prior to chromatography efficiently removes immunogenic contaminants, yielding circRNAs with undetectable immune activation and robust translation in human cells. This workflow provides a practical platform for scalable production of high-quality circRNAs.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Cascade-Targeting Nanoparticles for Reversing Chemoresistance in Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) remains the most prevalent primary malignant bone tumor in adolescents, with chemotherapy resistance significantly limiting the efficacy of current treatments. To address the challenges of chemoresistance driven by DNA repair mechanisms and drug efflux, we developed a biomimetic cascade-targeting drug delivery system, TAT-mPDO@cRGD-M. This system combines a polydopamine (mPDA) core with strong photothermal and drug-loading capacities, enabling the co-delivery of cisplatin (CDDP) and olaparib (OLA). Surface functionalization with the nuclear localization peptide TAT and cloaking with osteosarcoma cell membranes modified with cRGD peptides allows for selective tumor recognition, nuclear targeting, and stimuli-responsive drug release. Upon near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, the platform enhances DNA damage, suppresses the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, and promotes apoptosis while inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that TAT-mPDO@cRGD-M exhibits potent antitumor activity against cisplatin-resistant osteosarcoma, maintaining strong therapeutic efficacy under low-power NIR irradiation without causing significant damage to normal tissues. This study highlights a highly specific and biocompatible therapeutic approach that offers promising potential for overcoming chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma and advancing clinical treatment strategies.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Mechanism of translation initiation on endogenous eukaryotic circular RNAs

Eukaryotic circular RNAs (circRNAs) perform a wide variety of functions. A subset of circRNAs has been demonstrated to undergo translation in vivo. However, few insights exist on the underlying translation mechanisms. Here, we elucidate the basis of translation initiation in two naturally occurring circular RNAs, circMbl and circSfl. We show that in vitro prepared versions of both circRNAs are translated in eukaryotic cell lysates and cells. Initiation depends on the untranslated region (UTR) and can be reconstituted using only the 43S pre-initiation complex, eukaryotic initiation factors 4G, 4A, 4B, and, for circSfl, the RNA helicase DHX29. Functional assays and structural analysis of the initiation complexes suggest that scanning until recognition of the start codon follows initial ribosome landing occurring on AU-rich, accessible UTR patches upstream of the initiation sites. Together, these results provide key insights into how eukaryotic ribosomes engage with and initiate translation on circular endogenous transcripts.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2025

TMEM100 attenuates NF-κB activation via disrupting the PRDX1-GNAI2 complex to alleviate acute lung injury

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe and diffuse inflammatory disorder of interstitial lung. Emerging evidence suggests that TMEM100 is closely associated with lung development and function. However, its role in ALI remains unclear. In this study, we observed a significant downregulation of TMEM100 expression in both mouse lung tissues with ALI and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary vascular endothelial cells (PVECs). Overexpression of TMEM100 markedly attenuates LPS-induced lung injury and inflammation, while also restoring the imbalance between proliferation and apoptosis in PVECs. Mechanistically, TMEM100 interacts with both PRDX1 and GNAI2, disrupting the PRDX1-GNAI2 complex and thereby inhibiting LPS-induced NF-{kappa}B activation, which contributes to its anti-inflammatory effects. These findings highlight the protective role of TMEM100 in endotoxin-induced ALI and provide a theoretical basis for understanding its biological functions and potential applications in ALI gene therapy.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2025

Differentially acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides as plant defense elicitors against spider mites

The increasing challenges of pesticide resistance and environmental degradation in modern agriculture require sustainable pest management strategies. This study investigates the efficacy of a specific type of hetero-chitooligosaccharide called DACOS, as a plant defense inducer against the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch. DACOS is characterized with 85% deacetylation and an average molecular weight of 1 kDa. In planta bioassays revealed a dose-dependent suppression of mite performance on DACOS-treated leaves of kidney bean seedlings, with peak efficacy occurring at 80 ppm. This concentration reduced mite survival by 30% and fecundity by 59% after six days. In addition to the local effects, mite survival and fecundity were also reduced on untreated leaves of the same seedlings, confirming that the effect of DACOS on plant defense is systemic. Behavioral choice assays revealed that DACOS-treated leaves induced 73% mite repellency. No direct acaricidal effects were observed, which confirms the role of DACOS as a plant defense elicitor. Metabolic profiling revealed enriched pathways (e.g., monoterpenoid biosynthesis and -linolenic acid metabolism) that produce volatile organic compounds with repellent properties. These findings suggest that DACOS is an environmentally friendly biostimulant that can enhance plant defense, bypass pesticide resistance, and promote the sustainability of crop production.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Adjacent Rare-Earth Separation via a Protein Atomic Ruler

The separation of rare-earth elements (REEs) poses a formidable challenge due to their nearly identical ionic radii and chemical properties. Here, we present a transformative strategy for REE separation using a multimetal ion-stacking metalloprotein framework (MIF) that functions as an atomic ruler, effectively amplifying subtle differences in REE ionic radii. This approach achieves exceptional selectivity, enabling the separation of all 13 adjacent REE pairs with ultrahigh purity (up to 99.999%). Remarkably, the MIF retains its lanthanide-binding capacity over 410 consecutive absorption-desorption cycles, demonstrating outstanding stability. Structural insights reveal that the MIFs densely packed REE coordination environment magnifies minute radius variations--a key mechanism underlying its unparalleled separation efficiency. Our MIF-based strategy offers a sustainable, scalable solution to rare-earth separation in industrial applications.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2025

A Nanoscale Jitterbug Transformer from DNA

Many viruses have intricate polyhedral shells capable of symmetric transformations in response to external stimuli to initiate payload release. Such deployable auxetic nanostructures are not available in the synthetic realm. Here we present a nanoscale Jitterbug transformer using DNA origami that can reconfigure its structure upon chemical and optical signals while maintaining a Poissons ratio of -1. By leveraging molecular dynamics simulations, we design the Jitterbug DNA to form a compact octahedron by storing elastic energy and spontaneously transition into an expanded cuboctahedron by releasing it. DNA transformers are explored like viruses that can create nanopores on lipid membranes and regulate payload release into vesicles. This work integrates programmable DNA self-assembly with free-energy-guided mechanical design, providing a pathway toward adaptive nanomaterials with potential in synthetic organelles and stimuli-responsive nanodevices.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2025

Integrated phenotypic and proteomic screening identifies top-tier Alzheimer's disease therapeutic targets

IntroductionAlzheimers disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. Hundreds of therapeutic targets have been nominated through genetic and multi-omic studies, but effective prioritization remains a major bottleneck. MethodsWe applied an integrative screening framework to assess 29 candidate targets from risk-enriched biological domains. Using disease-relevant murine BV2 microglial cell lines with stable Psen2 knockdown, we performed siRNA-mediated perturbations followed by cellular phenotypic assays and quantitative proteomics. ResultsTwenty-five candidate targets significantly altered at least one phenotype, with stronger effects in Psen2 knockdown cells. Integrated proteomic analyses identified several perturbations that reversed AD-associated molecular patterns. Five targets--Ap2a2, Pdhb, Pdha1, Dlat, and Psmc3-- impacted both phenotypes and related proteomic responses. DiscussionWe established a scalable platform for target functional validation that bridges unbiased systems-level assessments of AD risk with experimental evidence. The ESSJ TREAT-AD center will prioritize further resource development for these validated targets.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Genetically Engineered Cell Membrane-Coated Nanodrug for Targeted Treatment of Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, particularly in patients with radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC), who have limited treatment options and poor clinical prognosis. In this study, doxorubicin (DOX) and sorafenib (SOR) were loaded into the photothermal conversion agent mesoporous polydopamine (mPDA), forming mPDS. Tumor cell membrane coating engineering resulted in the formation of mPDS@CAR-M, significantly improving tumor targeting. After internalization by tumor cells, the loaded drugs are rapidly released under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. mPDS@CAR-M effectively inhibits tumor cell proliferation by enhancing oxidative stress, suppressing the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway, and inducing cytotoxic autophagy. By activating harmful autophagy, mPDS@CAR-M further inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, reducing tumor cell migration capacity. In vivo experiments showed that mPDS@CAR-M significantly reduced tumor volume, with its therapeutic efficacy closely related to the expression level of the targeted surface antigen. Therefore, mPDS@CAR-M demonstrates significant potential in the treatment of RAIR-DTC, providing a novel direction for further clinical exploration.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

METAHIT enables comprehensive and flexible genome-resolved microbiome analysis with metagenomic Hi-C

Metagenomic Hi-C (metaHi-C) adds within-cell proximity information to shotgun sequencing, but existing analyses are fragmented and short-insert intra-contig read pairs from Hi-C libraries are often underused. Here, we present METAHICT, a modular and configurable workflow spanning read processing, metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) reconstruction, and downstream analysis. METAHICT consolidates outputs from bin3C, MetaCC, and ImputeCC and uses an expectation-maximization model of mapped insert sizes to select short-insert, shotgun-like Hi-C pairs for per-bin reassembly. Across seven datasets, binning and consolidation generally recovered more near-complete and medium-quality MAGs than individual Hi-C binners. On the sheep-gut long-read assembly, METAHICT's binning and consolidation stage recovered 929 MAGs meeting at least the medium-quality threshold, including 487 near-complete MAGs. Within the reassembly module, adding EM-selected Hi-C reads to shotgun-only inputs yielded further significant reductions in contamination across multiple environments. The workflow also integrates scaffolding, taxonomic annotation, contact-map visualization, and analysis of candidate mobile genetic element (MGE)-host pairs. Together, these capabilities provide standardized outputs for comparative and hypothesis-driven genome-resolved microbiome analysis.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2025

Deterministic co-encapsulation of microparticles in droplets via synchronized merging for single-cell genomics

Droplet encapsulation of microparticles such as hydrogel beads and cells is fundamental to high-throughput bioanalytical assays, including single-cell genomics. However, co-encapsulation of multiple particles at defined ratios remains a technical challenge. Here, we present a simple and robust strategy for deterministic co-encapsulation, combining particle-triggered droplet generation with synchronized droplet merging. Close-packed hydrogel particles initiate droplet formation, and the resulting droplets are synchronized and merged within a microfluidic channel, enabling efficient encapsulation of microparticles at user-defined ratios. We systematically characterized the process and demonstrated reliable co-loading of 55 {micro}m and 80 {micro}m hydrogel particles at 1:1 and 2:1 ratios. Using this platform, we developed a single-cell 16S rRNA gene sequencing workflow by co-encapsulating hydrogel capsules containing amplified microbial genomes with barcode beads. Applied to a 1:1 mixture of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, the method enabled accurate, high-throughput single-cell taxonomic profiling. This co-encapsulation approach offers broad applicability for single-cell genomics, digital assays, and interaction-based studies requiring precise particle pairing.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate alleviates alcohol-associated liver disease through targeting HSD11B1

While magnesium isoglycyrrhizinate (MgIG) is a clinically approved therapy for alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), its precise molecular targets and mechanisms remain uncharacterized. This study aimed to define MgIGs hepatoprotective actions in chronic-binge ALD mouse models and ethanol/palmitic acid-exposed AML-12 hepatocytes. Through an integrated strategy encompassing RNA sequencing, molecular docking, and microscale thermophoresis, we discovered that MgIG directly binds to hydroxysteroid 11-beta dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1) at residue 187, a finding corroborated by molecular dynamics simulations. In vivo, MgIG markedly attenuated alcohol-induced liver injury, evidenced by ameliorated histological damage, reduced hepatic steatosis, and normalized liver-to-body weight ratios. In vitro, it effectively reduced lipid accumulation, inflammation, and apoptosis. Mechanistically, RNA sequencing identified isopentenyl diphosphate delta isomerase 1 (IDI1) as a key downstream effector. Hepatocyte-specific genetic manipulations confirmed that MgIG modulates the SREBP2-IDI1 axis, thereby suppressing lipogenesis, inflammatory responses, and apoptotic pathways. We reveal HSD11B1 as a novel direct molecular target of MgIG and elucidate its therapeutic mechanism through the HSD11B1-SREBP2-IDI1 signaling axis, which profoundly impacts ALD pathogenesis. These findings not only validate MgIGs clinical utility but also highlight a promising new therapeutic target for ALD.

pharmacology and toxicology↗