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Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
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Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 16635

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Science and Engineereing of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, RO-011061 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: synthesis and characterization of nanobiomaterials; polymers; pharmaceutical nanotechnology; drug delivery; anti-biofilm surfaces; nanomodified surfaces; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of cellular and molecular engineering aims to improve human health by researching cellular behaviors driven by interactions at the molecular level, using engineering principles and methods to provide technological solutions for a complete knowledge of the mechanisms.

With the convergence of the fields of engineering and cell and molecular biology, new directions have emerged for pathogenesis studies. Abnormalities in cellular processes, such as adhesion, migration, differentiation, proliferation, protein secretion, gene expression and regulation and apoptosis, can be detected owing to the recent advances in modern bioengineering tools. Additionally, cell–cell and cell–ECM interactions and cell signaling, which are the main directing mechanisms in both health and disease, can be analyzed and reproduced for various biomedical applications. The principles and techniques of bioengineering have led to progress in our understanding the molecular-level interactions, and their influence on cell, tissue, and organ behaviors.

The rise of cellular and molecular engineering is the result of the merged research of engineers, biologists, physicists, and chemists that have tried to solve fundamental and urgent problems in medicine, public health, and biology.

Cellular and molecular engineering have also led to groundbreaking advances in the field of translational medicine, with an emphasis on disease-specific biomarkers, molecular imaging, micropatterning, and applied immunology, which can further improve the outcomes of clinical research.

Topics:

  • Engineering cell and tissue microenvironment
  • Cell and molecular mechanics
  • Membrane biochemistry and biophysics
  • Molecular dynamics
  • Cellular networks modeling
  • Protein engineering and metabolism
  • Biomolecules manufacturing
  • Biophysical and biochemical signals
  • ECM-inspired biomaterial design
  • Bioengineered enzymes

Assoc. Prof. Dr.  Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Engineering cell
  • Membrane biochemistry
  • Molecular dynamics
  • Biomolecules
  • Drug design
  • Biomaterial design
  • Pharmacodynamics
  • Molecular mechanics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2399 KiB  
Article
The Methionine 549 and Leucine 552 Residues of Friedelin Synthase from Maytenus ilicifolia Are Important for Substrate Binding Specificity
by Bruna F. Mazzeu, Tatiana M. Souza-Moreira, Andrew A. Oliveira, Melissa Remlinger, Lidiane G. Felippe, Sandro R. Valentini, Rafael V. C. Guido, Cleslei F. Zanelli and Maysa Furlan
Molecules 2021, 26(22), 6806; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26226806 - 11 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2046
Abstract
Friedelin, a pentacyclic triterpene found in the leaves of the Celastraceae species, demonstrates numerous biological activities and is a precursor of quinonemethide triterpenes, which are promising antitumoral agents. Friedelin is biosynthesized from the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene, involving a series of rearrangements to form [...] Read more.
Friedelin, a pentacyclic triterpene found in the leaves of the Celastraceae species, demonstrates numerous biological activities and is a precursor of quinonemethide triterpenes, which are promising antitumoral agents. Friedelin is biosynthesized from the cyclization of 2,3-oxidosqualene, involving a series of rearrangements to form a ketone by deprotonation of the hydroxylated intermediate, without the aid of an oxidoreductase enzyme. Mutagenesis studies among oxidosqualene cyclases (OSCs) have demonstrated the influence of amino acid residues on rearrangements during substrate cyclization: loss of catalytic activity, stabilization, rearrangement control or specificity changing. In the present study, friedelin synthase from Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae) was expressed heterologously in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Site-directed mutagenesis studies were performed by replacing phenylalanine with tryptophan at position 473 (Phe473Trp), methionine with serine at position 549 (Met549Ser) and leucine with phenylalanine at position 552 (Leu552Phe). Mutation Phe473Trp led to a total loss of function; mutants Met549Ser and Leu552Phe interfered with the enzyme specificity leading to enhanced friedelin production, in addition to α-amyrin and β-amyrin. Hence, these data showed that methionine 549 and leucine 552 are important residues for the function of this synthase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering)
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11 pages, 3160 KiB  
Article
Morin Induces Melanogenesis via Activation of MAPK Signaling Pathways in B16F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells
by SeoYeon Shin, JaeYeon Ko, MinJeong Kim, Nuri Song and KyungMok Park
Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2150; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082150 - 8 Apr 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3417
Abstract
Morin is a well-known flavonoid, and has been reported to have various properties, such as anti-cell death, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Although studies on the biochemical and biological actions of morin have been reported, the melanin biosynthesis effects and molecular mechanisms are unknown. [...] Read more.
Morin is a well-known flavonoid, and has been reported to have various properties, such as anti-cell death, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Although studies on the biochemical and biological actions of morin have been reported, the melanin biosynthesis effects and molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, we first found that morin has the effect of enhancing melanin biosynthesis in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells, and analyzed the molecular mechanism. In this study, we examined the effects of morin on the melanin contents and tyrosinase activity, as well as the protein expression levels of the melanogenic enzymes TRP-1, TRP-2, and microphtalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. Morin showed no cytotoxicity in the concentration range of 5–100 μM, and significantly increased the intracellular tyrosinase activity and melanin contents. In mechanism analysis, morin increased the protein expression of TRP-1, TRP-2, and MITF associated with melanogenesis. Furthermore, morin increased phosphorylated ERK and p38 at the early time, and decreased phosphorylated ERK after 12 h. The results suggest that morin enhances melanin synthesis through the MAPK signaling pathways in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering)
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14 pages, 3509 KiB  
Article
Probing the Proton-Loading Site of Cytochrome C Oxidase Using Time-Resolved Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
by Elena Gorbikova, Sergey A. Samsonov and Ruslan Kalendar
Molecules 2020, 25(15), 3393; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25153393 - 27 Jul 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2973
Abstract
Crystal structure analyses at atomic resolution and FTIR spectroscopic studies of cytochrome c oxidase have yet not revealed protonation or deprotonation of key sites of proton transfer in a time-resolved mode. Here, a sensitive technique to detect protolytic transitions is employed. In this [...] Read more.
Crystal structure analyses at atomic resolution and FTIR spectroscopic studies of cytochrome c oxidase have yet not revealed protonation or deprotonation of key sites of proton transfer in a time-resolved mode. Here, a sensitive technique to detect protolytic transitions is employed. In this work, probing a proton-loading site of cytochrome c oxidase from Paracoccus denitrificans with time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is presented for the first time. For this purpose, variants with single-site mutations of N131V, D124N, and E278Q, the key residues in the D-channel, were studied. The reaction of mutated CcO enzymes with oxygen was monitored and analyzed. Seven infrared bands in the “fast” kinetic spectra were found based on the following three requirements: (1) they are present in the “fast” phases of N131V and D124N mutants, (2) they have reciprocal counterparts in the “slow” kinetic spectra in these mutants, and (3) they are absent in “fast” kinetic spectra of the E278Q mutant. Moreover, the double-difference spectra between the first two mutants and E278Q revealed more IR bands that may belong to the proton-loading site protolytic transitions. From these results, it is assumed that several polar residues and/or water molecule cluster(s) share a proton as a proton-loading site. This site can be propionate itself (holding only a fraction of H+), His403, and/or water cluster(s). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering)
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Review

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16 pages, 959 KiB  
Review
The Potential Role and Regulatory Mechanisms of MUC5AC in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
by Jingyuan Li and Zuguang Ye
Molecules 2020, 25(19), 4437; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25194437 - 27 Sep 2020
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7023
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally. Studies show that airway mucus hypersecretion strongly compromises lung function, leading to frequent hospitalization and mortality, highlighting an urgent need for effective COPD treatments. MUC5AC is known to contribute to [...] Read more.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality globally. Studies show that airway mucus hypersecretion strongly compromises lung function, leading to frequent hospitalization and mortality, highlighting an urgent need for effective COPD treatments. MUC5AC is known to contribute to severe muco-obstructive lung diseases, worsening COPD pathogenesis. Various pathways are implicated in the aberrant MUC5AC production and secretion MUC5AC. These include signaling pathways associated with mucus-secreting cell differentiation [nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)and IL-13-STAT6- SAM pointed domain containing E26 transformation-specific transcription factor (SPDEF), as well as epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)], and signaling pathways related to mucus transport and excretion-ciliary beat frequency (CBF). Various inhibitors of mucus hypersecretion are in clinical use but have had limited benefits against COPD. Thus, novel therapies targeting airway mucus hypersecretion should be developed for effective management of muco-obstructive lung disease. Here, we systematically review the mechanisms and pathogenesis of airway mucus hypersecretion, with emphasis on multi-target and multi-link intervention strategies for the elucidation of novel inhibitors of airway mucus hypersecretion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering)
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