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工程(英文)
工程(英文)

双月刊

2095-8099

工程(英文)/Journal EngineeringCSTPCDCSCD北大核心SCI
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    Editorial for the Special Issue on Natural Medicine

    Jian-Dong Jiang
    1页

    Egypt Shows World How to Tackle Hepatitis C

    Alla Katsnelson
    2-4页

    European Union Issues World's First Comprehensive Regulations for Artificial Intelligence

    Chris Palmer
    5-7页

    Controversy Clouds Real Progress in Superconductor Research

    Mark Peplow
    8-10页

    Neg-Entropy Mechanism as a Target for Natural Medicines

    Tian-Le GaoHui-Hui GuoJian-Dong Jiang
    11-12页

    Bioactivities,Mechanisms,Production,and Potential Application of Bile Acids in Preventing and Treating Infectious Diseases

    Shuang LiuShuo YangBiljana BlazekovicLu Li...
    13-26页
    查看更多>>摘要:Infectious diseases are a global public health problem,with emerging and re-emerging infectious dis-eases on the rise worldwide.Therefore,their prevention and treatment are still major challenges.Bile acids are common metabolites in both hosts and microorganisms that play a significant role in controlling the metabolism of lipids,glucose,and energy.Bile acids have historically been utilized as first-line,valu-able therapeutic agents for related metabolic and hepatobiliary diseases.Notably,bile acids are the major active ingredients of cow bezoar and bear bile,which are commonly used traditional Chinese medicines(TCMs)with the therapeutic effects of clearing heat,detoxification,and relieving wind and spasm.In recent years,the promising performance of bile acids against infectious diseases has attracted attention from the scientific community.This paper reviews for the first time the biological activities,possible mechanisms,production routes,and potential applications of bile acids in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.Compared with previous reviews,we comprehensively summarize existing studies on the use of bile acids against infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms that are leading causes of global morbidity and mortality.In addition,to ensure a stable supply of bile acids at affordable prices,it is necessary to clarify the biosynthesis of bile acids in vivo,which will assist scientists in eluci-dating the accumulation of bile acids and discovering how to engineer various bile acids by means of chemosynthesis,biosynthesis,and chemoenzymatic synthesis.Finally,we explore the current challenges in the field and recommend a development strategy for bile-acid-based drugs and the sustainable pro-duction of bile acids.The presented studies suggest that bile acids are potential novel therapeutic agents for managing infectious diseases and can be artificially synthesized in a sustainable way.

    The Anticancer Potential of Quassinoids-A Mini-Review

    Cai LuSi-Nan LuDi DiWei-Wei Tao...
    27-38页
    查看更多>>摘要:The anticancer potential of quassinoids has attracted a great deal of attention for decades,and scientific data revealing their possible applications in cancer management are continuously increasing in the liter-ature.Aside from the potent cytotoxic and antitumor properties of these degraded triterpenes,several quassinoids have exhibited synergistic effects with anticancer drugs.This article provides an overview of the potential anticancer properties of quassinoids,including their cytotoxic and antitumor activities,mechanisms of action,safety evaluation,and potential benefits in combination with anticancer drugs.

    DNA G-Quadruplexes as Targets for Natural Product Drug Discovery

    Kai-Bo WangYingying WangJonathan DickerhoffDanzhou Yang...
    39-51页
    查看更多>>摘要:DNA guanine(G)-quadruplexes(G4s)are unique secondary structures formed by two or more stacked G-tetrads in G-rich DNA sequences.These structures have been found to play a crucial role in highly tran-scribed genes,especially in cancer-related oncogenes,making them attractive targets for cancer thera-peutics.Significantly,targeting oncogene promoter G4 structures has emerged as a promising strategy to address the challenge of undruggable and drug-resistant proteins,such as MYC,BCL2,KRAS,and EGFR.Natural products have long been an important source of drug discovery,particularly in the fields of cancer and infectious diseases.Noteworthy progress has recently been made in the discovery of nat-urally occurring DNA G4-targeting drugs.Numerous DNA G4s,such as MYC-G4,BCL2-G4,KRAS-G4,PDGFR-β-G4,VEGF-G4,and telomeric-G4,have been identified as potential targets of natural products,including berberine,telomestatin,quindoline,sanguinarine,isaindigotone,and many others.Herein,we summarize and evaluate recent advancements in natural and nature-derived DNA G4 binders,focus-ing on understanding the structural recognition of DNA G4s by small molecules derived from nature.We also discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with developing drugs that target DNA G4s.

    An Update on the Clinical Pipelines of New Antibacterial Drugs Developed in China

    Xinyi YangCongran LiXiukun WangZhonghui Zheng...
    52-68页
    查看更多>>摘要:Antibacterial resistance is a global health threat that requires further concrete action on the part of all countries.In this context,one of the biggest concerns is whether enough new antibacterial drugs are being discovered and developed.Although several high-quality reviews on clinical antibacterial drug pipelines from a global perspective were published recently,none provides comprehensive information on original antibacterial drugs at clinical stages in China.In this review,we summarize the latest progress of novel antibacterial drugs approved for marketing and under clinical evaluation in China since 2019.Information was obtained by consulting official websites,searching commercial databases,retrieving lit-erature,asking personnel from institutions or companies,and other means,and a considerable part of the data covered here has not been included in other reviews.As of June 30,2023,a total of 20 antibacterial projects from 17 Chinese pharmaceutical companies or developers were identified and updated.Among them,two new antibacterial drugs that belong to traditional antibiotic classes were approved by the National Medical Products Administration(NMPA)in China in 2019 and 2021,respectively,and 18 antibacterial agents are in clinical development,with one under regulatory evaluation,five in phase-3,six in phase-2,and six in phase-1.Most of the clinical candidates are new analogs or mono-components of traditional antibacterial pharmacophore types,including two dual-acting hybrid antibi-otics and a recombinant antibacterial protein.Overall,despite there being 17 antibacterial clinical candi-dates,our analysis indicates that there are still relatively few clinically differentiated antibacterial agents in stages of clinical development in China.Hopefully,Chinese pharmaceutical companies and institutions will develop more innovative and clinically differentiated candidates with good market potential in the future research and development(R&D)of original antibacterial drugs.

    Antibodies Targeting a Conserved Surface Polysaccharide Are Protective Against a Wide Range of Microbial Pathogens Producing β-1-6-Linked Poly-N-Acetylglucosamine(PNAG)

    Xi LuGuoqing LiJing PangXinyi Yang...
    69-76页
    查看更多>>摘要:The β-1-6-linked poly-N-acetylglucosamine(PNAG)polymer is a conserved surface polysaccharide pro-duced by many bacteria,fungi,and protozoan(and even filarial)parasites.This wide-ranging expression makes PNAG an attractive target for vaccine development,as it potentially encompasses a broad range of microorganisms.Significant progress has been made in discovering important properties of the biology of PNAG expression in recent years.The molecular characterization and regulation of operons for the pro-duction of PNAG biosynthetic proteins and enzymes have been studied in many bacteria.In addition,the physiological function of PNAG has been further elucidated.PNAG-based vaccines and PNAG-targeting antibodies have shown great efficacy in preclinical research.Furthermore,clinical tests for both vaccines and antibodies have been carried out in humans and economically important animals,and the results are promising.Although it is not destined to be a smooth road,we are optimistic about new vaccines and immunotherapeutics targeting PNAG becoming validated and eventually licensed for clinical use against multiple infectious agents.